Pink's husband defends teaching daughter Willow, 7, how to use a GUN
31 January 2019, 12:04
The controversial images of Pink's daughter were posted to Carey Hart's Instagram page.
Pink's husband Carey Hart has been forced to defend his decision to teach his seven-year-old daughter Willow how to use a gun after she was pictured shooting a .22 rifle.
Taking to Instagram Hart, 43, also revealed he has been teaching her how to safely handle firearms since she was THREE.
Haven’t poked the parent police bear in a few days,'' he wrote. "Willz and I shooting the 22 rifle. She is getting pretty good. Can hit a 12 inch pie plate from 30 yards. Started her shooting at 3yrs old."
Hart also stressed that their family's enjoyment of shooting guns is just for sport.
He added: "For the record none of us hunt, just enjoy shooting for sport,'' he wrote. "I’m raising the kids with knowledge of fire arms, how to handle them, shoot them, store them, and avoid them in uneducated hands. #knowledgeispower"
Read more: Pink sings Greatest Showman 'A Million Dreams' with her daughter Willow
The picture proved divisive as a number of followers took to his comments to share their opinion on the controversial post.
One infuriated user wrote: "There is absolutely no reason why a 3-year-old needs to be shooting a gun."
Another added: "It is just indoctrinating the toxic American culture that guns are somehow 'cool' and a 'hobby'...Maybe actually try to listen to all the people flooding your comment with an open mind instead of telling them to unfollow or block them. That in itself is so childish and change will never happen that way."
However, there were some messages of support as one mused: "As a wife of a police officer and firearms instructor I would much rather teach them to respect and be familiar with the guns than to fear them."
Another added: "Curiosity at one point will happen and thanks to proper education your girl will already have knowledge. Good for you! Now that said medical professional in me says bravo for the ear protection."
After being questioned why he would use his celebrity to endorse guns, Hart further defended his actions in the comments, writing: "I hope they spend quality time with their kids, teach them life skills, and education.
"I’m not sure where you live, but in America fire arms are legal and not going away. So I choose to embrace it. Take the taboo out. Educate them so they don’t become a statistic. Many forms of shooting are an OLYMPIC sport."
