Lauren Boebert poses her children with guns in Christmas photo

Colorado Republican becomes second member of GOP to post holiday image that includes multiple firearms

Colorado Republican Representative Lauren Boebert tweeted a Christmas photo posing with her children holding guns.

Ms Boebert is the second member of the GOP to release a Christmas family photo that includes multiple firearms.

“The Boeberts have your six, @RepThomasMassie! (No spare ammo for you, though),” Ms Boebert tweeted on Tuesday night.

Kentucky Republican Representative Thomas Massie garnered attention after he posted an image of his family holding rifles on Saturday with the message: “Merry Christmas! ps. Santa, please bring ammo.”

The photos were shared just days after the shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan, which left four people dead and seven wounded. A 15-year-old suspect has been charged as an adult with terrorism and murder, among other crimes. His parents have been charged with involuntary manslaughter. They have all pleaded not guilty.

Mr Massie recently compared vaccine requirements to the Holocaust and he pushed back on reviewing the use of bump stocks following the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, which left 58 dead, an event that even prompted the NRA to support administrative bump stock regulations.

“If we know anything at all about America’s gun fetish, it’s that the children are either props or targets,” Brett Pransky, a former Democratic candidate for the Ohio statehouse tweeted about Ms Boebert’s Christmas photo.

“Back in my Republican days, I used to talk some about the ‘war on Christmas,’ but this isn’t what I meant,” former Illinois Representative Joe Walsh wrote.

Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jaime was killed in the 2018 Parkland school shooting in Florida, tweeted: “The irresponsible gun-owning parent @laurenboebert is likely raising a future school shooter or domestic terrorist. She may think her photo is a funny reply to Massie, it is not. While she was taking the time to post, a REAL HERO was buried because of gun violence yesterday.”

Ms Boebert has recently also found herself involved in a separate scandal after she repeatedly aimed racist and anti-muslim comments at Minnesota Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar.

Massachusetts Democratic Representative Ayanna Pressley has introduced a resolution signed by other progressives that would remove Ms Boebert from the committees she’s serving on in the House.

But Democratic leaders are hesitant to go after Republican members every time they do something they consider outrageous, and both legislators and staff members in the chamber have expressed concerns in private about punishing Ms Boebert since she didn’t make violent threats against Ms Omar, CNN reported.

It was violent rhetoric that prompted Democrats to strip committee assignments from Republicans Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona.

Ms Omar has called Ms Boebert’s words “hateful and dangerous”, saying that “normalising this bigotry not only endangers my life but the lives of all Muslims”.

“Anti-Muslim bigotry has no place in Congress,” Ms Omar said after Ms Boebert implied that Ms Omar had been mistaken for a terrorist on Capitol Hill.

The Independent has reached out to the office of Ms Boebert for comment.