Josh Moore was thrilled to be holding a gun his father gave him as a present for his upcoming 11th birthday.

In this picture the gun kind of resembles a military-style assault rifle, but it is really just a .22-caliber copy.

Still, it didn't take long before the Moores got some unexpected company (and it wasn’t at the birthday party). Child welfare case workers and police officers visited the home and demanded to see Josh's father, Shawn’s, guns.

New Jersey's Department of Children and Families declined to comment specifically on the case but says it often follows up on tips. The family and an attorney say father Shawn Moore's Second Amendment rights to bear arms were threatened in a state that already has some of the nation's strictest gun laws and is considering strengthening them after December's schoolhouse massacre in Connecticut.

Since the photo was posted to Facebook, the family believes that someone who saw the picture tipped police. Shawn Moore said he gave his son the gun as a present to use on hunting trips..

"They said they wanted to see into my safe and see if my guns were registered," Moore said. "I said no; in New Jersey, your guns don't have to be registered with the state; it's voluntary. I knew once I opened that safe, there was no going back."

Shawn had his lawyer listening on the phone as the Child Services officers went through his house. Moore asked the investigators and police officers if they had a warrant to search his home, and they said they did not so Moore asked them to leave his home. When Moore asked the child welfare officials their names, they would not identify themselves.

The agents and the police officers left, and nothing has happened since.

"I don't like what happened," he said. "You're not even safe in your own house. If they can just show up at any time and make you open safes and go through your house, that's not freedom; it's like tyranny”, according to the Huffington Post.

What do you think? Were they just doing their job? Or did they overreact?

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