19 Kids and Counting’s family, the Duggar family, aren’t the kind of people who cause controversy, but that’s what eldest son Josh Duggar inadvertently did when he and his wife, along with their children, posed for a picture that included an assault rifle. Worse still–in some critics’ eyes anyway–their two young boys were touching the gun.

Now don’t jump to conclusions. The 19 Kids and Counting family, including their married offspring, haven’t armed themselves in order to protect their large brood. Josh Duggar and his family simply attended a performance by the United States Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps and the United States Army Band, after which they met and posed in a photo with a soldier who was part of the honor guard.

Duggar looked at the event as a fun family adventure.

We had a blast with our family at the @theusarmyband @ArmyFifeandDrum at Ft. Myer…a must visit when here in DC! pic.twitter.com/slFAlaKiJa

— Josh Duggar (@joshduggar) August 4, 2014

He seemed genuinely honored that a soldier took the time to pose with him and his family for the photo.

Honored to meet a soldier in the honor guard @ArmyFifeandDrum at @JBMHH the other night! #ar15 #soldier #family pic.twitter.com/N7iIgSGN42

— Josh Duggar (@joshduggar) August 4, 2014

The story of the photo with the assault rifle quickly made the rounds on the internet, with people chiming in with their opinions.

“Chill! Nobody is handling an assault riffle. Josh is holding it. The babies are touching it. Nobody has their hand near the trigger or finger anywhere close. The barrel is not pointing to anybody. It is pointing to the grass. The soldier is right there in case anything happens. People that do not know anything about guns and/or never fire one, are the ones that criticize the most,” said one commenter on one of the articles.

“As a responsible female gun owner and mother I disagree the best thing you can do is teach children that guns are not toys and if they find one not to touch it. Get a parent or other responsible adult to check it out. My child actually found a black plastic gun in some bushes and came to get mom just like he had been taught. Guns are for adults not for kids. Shame on Josh Duggar for not teaching his kids gun safety,” responded another.

Josh Duggar seems to be trying to squelch the controversy by not mentioning it on his Twitter account. He posted the picture and it is still there. He hasn’t made any comments about it since it was posted.

In other 19 Kids and Counting news, several of the Duggar family members traveled to Central America recently on a mission trip, including Jessa Duggar and her courtship partner (a.k.a. her boyfriend) Ben Seewald.

Ben captioned this photo, “Headed out for a Central American missions trip! 12 days, 3 countries. Please pray for our team!” That team included Jim Bob Duggar as well as Duggar siblings Jessa, Jedidiah, Jeremiah, Jason, James, Justin, and Jackson.

And finally, the last tidbit of 19 Kids and Counting news worth mentioning is the upcoming one-year courtship anniversary for Jessa Duggar and Ben Seewald. Rumor has it Jessa might be the second Duggar daughter to tie the knot before the end of 2014. Sister Jill Duggar married Derick Dillard in June.

Before long there will likely be even more Duggar grandchildren joining the fold. Hopefully they don’t all play with assault rifles.

Image via Twitter