Photo showing ‘Santa’ applying for concealed carry permit causes stir

(CNN) - A photo of a Santa lookalike getting his concealed handgun permit in Colorado caused a stir on social media.

The El Paso County Sheriff’s office posted the photo.

Hundreds of people commented questioning the timing and sensitivity of the post, and they questioned using a children’s figure to appear to support handguns.

The sheriff’s office issued a media response, saying they intended to highlight their staff in the concealed handgun permit office by sharing statistics.

And they said they did not intend to be insensitive. To them, Santa correlates with the month of December, and they said they thought the photo would help to recognize their hard-working staff.

They said it was also a chance to share a link to their website for people requesting information on how to get a concealed handgun permit.