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

Montana Republican Rep. Troy Downing responded online on Sunday to criticism of a hunting photo, releasing a short video in which he walked viewers through the workings of a break-action shotgun. The backlash began after he shared two pictures from a Saturday outing for upland game birds. In one, the barrel of his gun seemed to point toward his wife's head, which critics said broke a core principle of gun handling, according to Daily Caller.

Downing described himself as a combat veteran and lifelong outdoorsman and labeled the 28-second clip a safety announcement. Holding what looked like the same gun, he said a shotgun of this type should only be passed to another person with the action open, since it cannot fire in that state, and that he checks the chambers with his fingers first. A closed gun, he added, should be treated as loaded, with the muzzle kept away from anything one does not want to destroy. His office did not reply when the Daily Caller News Foundation asked for comment.

Some users on X piled on, and at least one brought up the 2006 incident in which then-Vice President Dick Cheney wounded a hunting companion with a shotgun.

Summarized by PolitiKool from Daily Caller’s reporting. Read the full story at Daily Caller →