GOP Rep Hastily Posts PSA After He Appears To Violate Basic Firearms Safety Rule

A Republican congressman posted a video Sunday explaining how a break-action shotgun works after he was accused of violating a basic rule of firearms safety.

Republican Montana Rep. Troy Downing posted two photos from a hunting trip for upland game birds Saturday, one portrayed him with the muzzle of the shotgun he used apparently pointing in the general vicinity of his wife’s head. Following criticism of the photo, Downing posted a video explaining how the shotgun in question worked.

“Since some folks are confused, here’s a quick firearm PSA! As a combat veteran and lifelong outdoorsman, let me educate some of my friends on how a break-action shotgun actually works,” Downing posted above the 28-second video.

In the video, Downing, dressed in hunting attire, held up what appeared to be the same shotgun from Saturday’s photo. Downing did not respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Hey, for those of you who may not understand how a break action shotgun works,” Downing explained. “Well, first of all, when I was a kid, I was taught never hand somebody a gun if it’s loaded.”

“A break-action never handed to somebody if it’s not open,” Downing continued. “If it’s open, it can’t be fired. I always stick my fingers in to make sure that there’s no shells in there. That’s how you hand it to somebody else.”

Commenters on X ripped Downing for failing to follow the basic safety rule, with at least one referencing a hunting accident involving then-Vice President Dick Cheney in 2006, in which Cheney accidentally shot a hunting companion with his 28-gauge shotgun.

“If the gun’s closed, always assume it’s loaded,” Downing said. “Make sure that the muzzle’s never pointed at anything you don’t want to destroy and if you’re hiking, moving around, if you’re not actually shooting, make sure that it’s safe so it can’t be fired.”

On Saturday, Republican congressional candidate Brandon Herrera, a social media influencer known as the “AK Guy,” took aim at Democratic Massachusetts Rep. Jake Auchincloss over an ad supporting a gun-control law up for a referendum in the New England state.