In some quarters of the silly, ignorant internet this picture is causing a stir:

That’s Dakota Meyer — a Marine who was awarded the Medal of Honor for action in the Battle of Ganjgal (you can read my review of his book here). If there is a man alive today who know how to handle a firearm, it’s Dakota Meyer.

Notwithstanding his expertise and experience, internet trolls freaked out at the proximity of his pistol to his baby daughter. Here’s how the Daily Mail described the picture:

In the image, the Medal of Honor winner appears to be getting ready to leave his house. While he can be seen adjusting the holster, Sailor is innocently sucking on her pacifier, unaware that a lethal weapon is mere inches away from her.


“Mere inches away” — the drama, oh the drama. But I must confess that I’m confused. Is the concern that Meyer’s infant daughter will pitch forward in her car seat, grab the gun while tumbling down from the kitchen island, and fire it while her father stands right next to her – completely helpless? Or is the concern that a baby is next to a gun — and everyone knows that guns just radiate deadliness and malice.

I suspect it’s the latter — because it’s obvious to me that Sailor is in absolutely zero physical danger. You can’t even tell from the picture whether the gun is loaded or a round is chambered. Either way, the concerns are ludicrous. I’ve held my youngest daughter — who’s much older than Sailor and far more capable of grabbing a gun – countless times while carrying a firearm, and each time she was “mere inches away” from a “lethal weapon.” The issue isn’t proximity of the gun to the child but whether the adult is in control of access to the gun. Sailor is perfectly safe, and the anti-gun internet remains perfectly ludicrous.