PHOTO Bristol Palin’s fiancé under fire for playing with baby next to unsecured handgun

Bristol Palin and her new beau Dakota Meyer are in a bit of hot water this week. It seems the pair, while hanging out and playing with an infant, took and posted a picture of playtime flanked by an unsecured handgun on a nearby table. In the photo’s comments on Instagram, a friend pointed out the misstep, to which Meyers responded “that’s just how we roll haha.”

Social media exploded over the incident, with some people defending Palin and her family, and others taking the young couple to task for overlooking such a potentially serious problem. Meyer himself–who is also the second-youngest Medal of Honor recipient still alive–has yet to respond to either the criticisms of the photo, or those who’ve come to its defense.

For many, the image brought to mind the recent tragedy in Idaho, where a two-year-old shot its mother after innocently groping around in her purse. The mother had a handgun concealed there, which went off accidentally.

What do you think? Is the Palin-Meyer consortium in the wrong? Or is this all much ado about nothing?

(Photo credit: Dakota Meyers on Instagram)