‘AK Guy’ Roasts Dem Congressman Over Ad Supporting Massachusetts Gun Ban

Republican Texas congressional nominee Brandon Herrera called out Democratic Massachusetts Rep. Jake Auchincloss over apparent ignorance about federal firearms laws early Saturday morning.

Pro-Second Amendment activists put a referendum on the Massachusetts ballot to ask if Bay State voters supported a gun-control law passed in 2024 targeting so-called “ghost guns” and “assault weapons.” Auchincloss posted on Friday morning a video of the ad to X, saying he was supporting it “as a Marine and dad.”

Also in the video, Auchincloss notably claims the parts for a so-called “ghost gun” can be purchased online, while removing a disassembled AR-15 from the two boxes, reattaching the rifle’s upper receiver to the lower receiver, loading a magazine, and chambering a round.

“Imagine paying a political consulting firm to record and produce an ad, but nobody bothers to fact check anything you say,” Herrera fired back with a post of his own. “What he’s demonstrating here is already a federal crime. What a joke.”

“It is federally illegal per 18usc922 to have a firearm, including a stripped lower, from being shipped to your house. What he has shown, is already a federal felony and has been for nearly 60 years,” a Community Note added to Auchincloss’s post states.

What many gun owners interested in building their own firearms tend to purchase are partially-completed receivers or frames for popular firearms like the AR-15 rifle, M1911 pistols, and Glock-style pistols, sometimes in kits with other parts. The gun owner, however, still has to build the firearm, using tools and jigs in a process which can take up to three days of active work, depending on the skill and experience of the gun owner and the complexity of the project, according to The Gun Zone.

“The ad refers to ordering the parts to build an untraceable gun. Federal law does not require all firearms assembled at home for personal use to have serial numbers,” a spokeswoman for Auchincloss’s campaign told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The 2024 Massachusetts law at issue in Question 9 closes that gap by requiring privately made firearms, including those assembled from unfinished frames or made by 3D printing, to be serialized and registered with the state. The Congressman is advocating for preserving these protections under Massachusetts law.”

Herrera, who is also a social media influencer known as “the AK Guy,” is also a federally licensed firearms manufacturer, according to his X profile. He won the Republican primary against Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales after Gonzales dropped out prior to the runoff election over a sex scandal involving a staffer who later committed suicide.

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