‘Facebook’ Photo Of Boy With Gun Prompts DYFS Investigation

Proud New Jersey dad Shawn Moore posted a photo of his son holding a .22 rifle on Facebook. The young man had passed a state firearms safety test and became certified to go hunting. Someone who saw the photo of the boy with the gun on the online social network became alarmed and called the Department of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) to investigate.

The anonymous call to DFYS resulted in two social services workers coming into the Moore home escorted by four police officers. Shawn Moore’s attorney Evan Nappen noted that the search of the home was conducted without a warrant.

The New Jersey DYFS workers reportedly demanded to see all the firearms in the home. According to Shawn Moore’s statements, the DYFS workers refused to tell him their names although he asked multiple times.

Evan Nappen was called by Moore’s wife when the DYFS workers arrived and listened to the conversation over the phone. Shawn Moore was not at home when the New Jersey police officers and social services staffers came to the home, but he arrived a short time later.

Moore was allegedly initially denied access to his home, and the safe where he stored his guns. The DYFS workers supposedly threatened to take Moore’s children during the exchange between the two parties inside the home.

A female New Jersey DYFS worker allegedly demanded to gain access to the gun safe to check and catalog to make sure the firearms were registered properly. State law does not reportedly require registration of such weapons; the process is totally voluntarily.

Shawn Moore also stated that the police officers involved in the investigation behaved in a professional manner during the entire ordeal. Moore is a holder of three different types of firearms certifications. The New Jersey man is a certified NRA instructor, a certified NRA range safety instructor, and a New Jersey state certified firearms hunting instructor.

In a post Moore penned on the Delaware Open Carry Forum, he noted that he would not budge in his refusal to open his safe without seeing a warrant. The New Jersey gun owner maintains that he was called “unreasonable” and told her was acting suspicious by not allowing the social services workers to take a look at his guns.

What do you think about the search of search of the New Jersey home that stemmed from a gun photo on Facebook?

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