Quote Originally Posted by BeardoMSU View Post
And speaking of guns in marching band/drum corps, the guard have traditionally used "rifles" as part of their routines....but they look like this....



About as non-threatening/realistic as you can get.
When I was in school, males (there was a female version, but it was voluntary and they were the "sweethearts" of the males) had to take ROTC the first two years, and Tuesdays were parade days (at least for the Army ... the AF may have had another day ... can't remember). Those of us in Army ROTC had to carry M-1 rifles around during parade time. They were real, but didn't have firing pins. We also had to (or were supposed to) disassemble and clean the things once a week in the ROTC building. I don't know how many years that requirement went on after I left school, but those were different days and times than now. I think basic ROTC was required at all land-grant universities at the time.