Kim Kardashian Gun Photo Sparks Controversy In Wake Of Sandy Hook Massacre
A few weeks after vocalizing support for gun control in the wake of the Sandy Hook School shooting in December, Kim Kardashian is being criticized for posting a photo of a diamond-encrusted handgun on Instagram.The image features a piece of yellow gold jewelry in the likeness of a .22 caliber handgun with a handle flanked with diamonds.
Kardashian, 31, posted the picture on Saturday, Feb. 2. and received backlash from her followers.
"@KimKardashian you have too much influence to be this blind and ignorant. Innocent children & people still die even if the gun is pretty," wrote one follower.
"When everyone is debating gun control, this is what you post - as if it's just a fun accessory?" tweeted another.
"With all the power to influence people that you have, you decide to post gun's pic??? how low is that???" wrote another.
Kardashian removed the image of the designer firearm from the social media site but not before several news outlets grabbed screen shots of it. A source close to the reality star said Kardashian posting the photo was an honest "mistake."
"Kim hates guns and immediately took it down," the insider told E! News.
In January, Kardashian pledged her support for gun control weeks after 26 people - including 20 children- were killed at the Sandy Hook School in Newtown, Connecticut on Dec. 14.
"Today, people in Newtown are making the #sandyhookpromise to reduce gun violence," Kardashian tweetedon Jan. 14. "Sign the pledge with me at at sandyhookpromise.org," she wrote.
Kardashian has shared other photos of handguns on her social media accounts in the past. Last year, she posted a picture of a fashion pistol designed by the French label Yves Saint Laurent. The company's logo - the initials "YSL"- are engraved on the handle. In November she shared a photo of herself shooting in a gun range.
