Teen Mom 2 and former 16 and Pregnant star Leah Messer's ex-husband, Jeremy Calvert, has stirred up outrage with a photo of their 3-year-old daughter. Calvert, who split from Messer in 2015, shared a photo on Instagram of their child Adalynn, happily holding what appears to be an enormous rifle.
"She said daddy, lets go hunting and shoot a coyote... lol better watch out boys she wont miss lol haha," he captioned the photo, adding, "p.s. yes people its a gun and its also unloaded get over it.... #daddieshunter #mybaby," in anticipation of criticism from gun-safety advocates.
It may shock you to learn that I am not a firearms expert who hunts in her spare time. But, as a human with a brain, I question the safety of bringing a toddler along on a hunting trip.
After receiving a bevy of comments both positive and negative, Calvert posted a follow-up message deriding his critics — or, as he lovingly refers to them, "idiots."
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His message, which you can read in full below, begins, "Okay to all you idiots, i was taught the correct way to handle a firearm at a very young age, and guess what so will my child." The 27-year-old continued, "So for all you people out there who seem to think ur opinion matters and you hate guns i honestly dont give a shit, My child is PROTECTED while in my care clearly :). And to all you that are aganist [sic] guns and dont have them nor want them i hope no one ever tries to enter your home and bring harm to your family."
I should point out that Calvert also makes clear in his second post that he always keeps his guns unloaded and locked up. While we're glad to hear that Calvert doesn't hand loaded guns to his 3-year-old, that's more of a universal precaution when it comes to basic gun safety — not a praiseworthy, extreme safety measure. Clearly, Calvert is missing the bigger point.
People are upset by an image like this because they believe it is irresponsible and ethically dubious to expose a very young child to guns and gun culture — especially in a society where gun laws are so lax and gun violence is so common relative to the rest of the world. If that makes me an "idiot" in Calvert's mind, so be it.