U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- A coalition of five gun rights organizations on Monday sent a letter to Pennsylvania House Speaker Bryan Cutler demanding the state House of Representatives “initiate a formal investigation into Attorney General Josh Shapiro and his Office for the manufacture and transfer of an un-serialized weapon for a New York resident in violation of both state and federal laws.”
The move follows the March 24th, 2022, revelations in AmmoLand News by Investigative Journalist, John Crump, about the apparently repeated transfers of “80%” handgun kits between NBC News and agents of the Attorney General’s Office.
The letter was signed by Alan Gottlieb, founder & executive vice president of the Second Amendment Foundation; Erich M. Pratt, Senior Vice President Gun Owners of America; American Firearms Association, and National Association for Gun Rights.
The three-page letter details the alleged crime:
“Earlier this year, NBC News Reporter Vaughn Hillyard, purchased two firearms build kits at the Oaks Gun Show, as part of a “hidden camera” investigation attempting to show the public how easy it was to manufacture a firearm from a kit. Ironically, Mr. Hillyard was apparently unable to finish the kit [himself] and reached out to Attorney General Shapiro for assistance. Thereafter, Mr. Hillyard met up with ‘special agents from the AG’s office, who agreed to use the kit [he] purchased from the show and build it into a ghost gun.’ Once the kit was complete, the agents of the Attorney General gave Mr. Hillyard, a resident of New York State, a finished firearm. This investigation was broadcast [by NBC News] on/about March 17th, 2022.”
But the gun rights organizations lower the proverbial boom, telling Cutler, “There is no ‘law enforcement exception’ to justice and Mr. Shapiro and his agents must be held to the same standard that they hold our citizens to.”
Following the original expose by journalist Crump, SAF’s Gottlieb issued a statement in which he declared;
“This sort of sensationalism is designed to generate ratings and raise viewer alarms,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “However, our alarms were raised because of the possible felonies that may have been committed by the reporter and the office of Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro.”
“You cannot violate federal gun laws to complain about gun laws and promote a gun control agenda, even as a working journalist,” Gottlieb stated.
Gottlieb also called on the U.S. Department of Justice to launch a separate investigation, because of alleged federal gun law violations.
There is no small irony in this development, following Joe Biden’s weekend call for a ban on so-called “ghost guns” in the wake of a mass shooting in Sacramento, even though there is no evidence such a firearm was used to kill six people and wound a dozen others.
In their letter, the gun rights leaders observed;
“The legislature is an important part of that system, acting as a “check and balance” on the executive in our constitutional republic, particularly when a member of the executive or his agents act as lawbreakers. It is the duty and responsibility of the Pennsylvania General Assembly to therefore investigate—and if necessary—hold our Attorney General accountable for any violations of the law or his oath of office that may have occurred.”
Gun rights groups want the investigation to commence immediately, “and be conducted with the full investigative authority and powers of the House pursuant to Rule 51 of General Operating Rules of the House of Representatives.”
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About Dave Workman
Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms, and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.
