Dad says Facebook photo of son with gun brought cops to house

A New Jersey man says that, on the basis of mere hearsay about a Facebook photo of his 11-year-old son with a .22 rifle, police and child protection arrive at his door and demand entry.

The picture that allegedly caused official concern.

(Credit: Shawn Moore/Facebook)

I am sure there are several 11-year-old boys who are terribly proficient at handling a gun.
But, given that I wouldn't trust an 11-year-old boy with a popsicle, I would just as well not be anywhere near them.
This, however, doesn't appear to have been the policy of the authorities in New Jersey. They were allegedly alarmed by a Facebook photo of Josh Moore, aged 11, holding a .22 rifle, and they allegedly wanted to get very near him.
The photo had been posted by his father, Shawn, to Facebook. It showed Josh, in his camouflage outfit and rather bright sneakers.
Shawn Moore told his story to a forum on the Delaware Open Carry Web site.
He said he received a text from his wife that police and alleged members of the Department of Youth and Family Services had paid their home a visit. It was, allegedly, not a social call.
Indeed, he posted a picture of police in what he describes as "tactical gear."
He says the authorities demanded to enter the house in Carneys Point, N.J., and check his guns. His lawyer, on a cell phone speakerphone, was privy to all the discussions.

Moore insisted that he wouldn't open the safe where his guns are kept-- as no warrant was allegedly presented to him -- and that a lady from the Department of Youth and Family Services refused to identify herself.
The Associated Press says that neither the department nor the police were prepared to comment on the alleged visitation and its purpose.
Moore said none of his visitors had actually seen the photo. He alleges they had merely received a phone call reporting its details.
The rifle was reportedly Josh Moore's 11th birthday gift.
Somehow, guns and Facebook have proved to constitute an often uncomfortable marriage of the medium and the message.
Recently, a Pennsylvania police chief was suspended after an especially fetching image of him, a comely lady friend, and a couple of guns appeared on the site.
The more we insist on exposing who we are to people we don't know, the more hullabaloo seems to inevitably develop.