Pink’s 7-year-old daughter goes shooting with dad; video on Instagram triggers debate
Pink’s husband, Carey Hart, knew he was stirring a pot when he shared a video Wednesday of their 7-year-old daughter shooting a rifle.
“Haven’t poked the parent police bear in a few days,” Hart wrote. “Willz and I shooting the 22 rifle. She is getting pretty good. Can hit a 12 inch pie plate from 30 yards.”
The video shows Willow checking with her dad before she pulls the trigger.
“Can I go?” she asks.
“Whenever you’re ready,” he says.
“Wait, is the safety on?” Willow asks.
“It’s off,” her dad says.
Then, pop.
She looks up to see what she hit.
As of Thursday afternoon the video has been viewed nearly 400,000 times and the comments have been flooded by people applauding him, saying the former motocross competitor is teaching his daughter responsible gun use. Here’s a sampling.
“Applause for teaching gun safety. It’s important.”
“Absolutely nothing wrong with raising an empowered and educated woman! Good job!!”
“You are doing a great job with her. I was mugged a few years ago with a gun held to my head. The Angels above were watching out for me. After that i got my CWP (Concealed Weapons Permit) I carry proudly and if a situation like that occurs again I will not hesitate to shoot.”
“The reaction on Hart’s Instagram was overwhelmingly positive, but there were some people who weren’t impressed,” wrote USA Today.
The New York Post’s Page Six curated some of criticism and how Hart responded.
One person askedHart to teach his kids about the 13th amendment, which abolished slavery in the United States. “You’ve done enough to teach them about the second,” they wrote, according to Page Six.
“Ever think how awesome it would be if people didn’t have entitlement to throw vile comments on other people’s page? I have people that I follow that I don’t agree with on their post. Guess what I do? Keep scrolling,” Hart answered.
He wrote on his post that he started his daughter shooting when she was 3.
Another person, according to the New York tabloid, chided: “There is absolutely no reason why a 3 year old needs to be shooting a gun. It is indoctrinating the toxic American culture that guns are somehow ‘cool’ and a ‘hobby’.”
According to Us Weekly, “when one Instagram user said the 7-year-old may lose control and shoot her father in the face, Pink’s husband kept his response plain and simple. ‘You’re completely ignorant.’”
Hart wrote that he is not a hunter, “just enjoy shooting for sport. 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,” he wrote.
Pink has let it be known what she thinks about public comments about their parenting choices.
The New York Daily News reports that last month, after Hart posted a photo of himself riding a dirt bike with their son, who was not yet 2 at the time, “Pink sarcastically fired back, ‘Help me Instagram, we can’t possibly parent without you.’”
Hat married Pink in January 2006, according to Redbook magazine, and they have two children - Willow Sage and Jameson Moon.