(Facebook Photo)
A Michigan-based mother has revealed her heartache about gun control laws in the US after realising that what initially seemed to be a funny photo of her three-year-old daughter, revealed a more disturbing truth.
Stacey Wehrman Feeley took a photo of her little girl standing on top of the toilet to send to her husband, thinking she was being mischievous.
But she said she 'broke down' when her daughter explained that she was practicing the lockdown drill she'd been taught at preschool in the event of a gun attack.
The powerful image and Stacey's emotional plea, begging for changes to be made to gun laws, has garnered more than 26,000 likes and been shared more than 25,000 times since she posted it on Facebook.
Stacey admitted that the moment her daughter revealed she was practicing what she'd been taught to do if she got stuck in a bathroom during an attack made her realise all her daughter's innocence was gone.
"The moment she told me what she was doing I broke down. She was practicing for a lockdown drill at her preschool and what you should do if you are stuck in a bathroom.
"At that moment all innocence of what I thought my three-year-old possessed was gone."
She also warned politicians that their children and grandchildren are living in a world where they have to grow up learning how to hide from gun attackers
"Politicians - take a look. This is your child, your children, your grandchildren, your great grand children and future generations to come," Stacey wrote.
"They will live their lives and grow up in this world based on your decisions. They are barely three and they will hide in bathroom stalls standing on top of toilet seats.
"I do not know what will be harder for them? Trying to remain quiet for an extended amount of time or trying to keep their balance without letting a foot slip below the stall door?"
Stacey went on to call for tighter gun control, asking why there are no universal background checks or a universal registration database.
"Banding together, signing petitions, rallying to get your voice heard is good, but is it actually doing anything or just making us feel better about the current situation? We need action," she added.
She concluded her post by saying she did not personally have all the answers but that creating awareness about the issue was essential.
"I am not pretending to have all the answers or even a shred of them, but unless you want your children standing on top of a toilet, we need to do something.Please share. "
Stacey has received an outpouring of support for her words on Facebook, with most expressing their shock and heartbreak at the prevailing situation and acknowledging the need to create awareness.
Click here to read the full post.
&uuid=(email))