A Facebook photograph of a baby holding a rifle taken at a Connecticut gun store 20 miles from the scene of the Sandy Hook massacre has sparked outrage, UK MailOnline reported.
Before Christopher Duffy purchased the gun from Woodbridge Firearms on Tuesday, he decided to click a photo of his six month old baby Genevieve Duffy holding the firearm. It was later posted on Facebook.
In a community that is still raw from the deaths of 20 children and six teachers in December of 2012, the shared online photo with the Woodbridge gun store caused a furious reaction. However, the bolt action rifle is considered to be made safe.
Woodbridge Firearms, which previously said it was proud to post the picture online, had to eventually delete the image from its Facebook account after the huge backlash.
"After everything that happened in Connecticut with Sandy Hook and everything that's going on with the gun laws, why would you have your baby holding a gun - a big gun?" said local resident Bryanna Wingate to WTNH.
However, the child's unrepentant father said that he had no regrets and would do it again, UK MailOnline reported.
"Other people being upset about it? I don't force their kids to do anything. I don't force them to do anything," said Duffy.
"My hand was on it, the bolt was open, it was safety checked. I'm not sure how wide the picture is. She's clearly in her seat just sitting up, one hand on the scope, one hand on the barrel."
Duffy claimed that the picture came about by accident when he was at the store searching for a new rifle.
"The little one actually latched onto it when I first picked it up to see how heavy it was. It's actually very light, to test the weight, so I just decided to take the picture," said Duffy to WTNH.
Some members of the public were simply baffled, according to UK MailOnline.
"She can't even speak yet and she has a gun in her hand and it's bizarre," said Alexa Grose, Seymour.
In a state which is enacting stringent controls on assault rifles in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook massacre, some felt that the criticism went too far.
"It's nothing, I don't know why that would bother people to be honest with you," said Tom Wayland, who was browsing in Woodbridge Firearms.
Before he bowed to public pressure, the store's owner initially said he had no problem with the photos.
"If someone wants to share something with the rest of the community, I have no problem posting it on the page," said Mike Majewski, Co-owner.
Indeed, Majewski was probably mindful of the experience of Riverview Gun Sales shop in Wast Windsor, Connecticut. It was the store which sold the semi-automatic weapon that Sandy Hook shooter, Adam Lanza, used to kill 26 people at the elementary school, UK MailOnline reported.
In April, it was announced that the store had lost its license to sell guns and now is able to only deal in survival equipment and provisions.
