JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. _ Nearly a year after he was temporarily booted off of Facebook for raffling off an AR-15 rifle, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate is giving away a machine capable of printing parts for a similar firearm.
Austin Petersen, who ran for president as a Libertarian in 2016, issued a press release and a letter to potential donors announcing the giveaway Tuesday saying Republicans have not done enough to protect gun rights.
"This technology has the potential to send gun control into the ash heap of history. The government's ability to control or ban guns will be obsolete," he notes in the fundraising appeal. "I think the new prize may trigger a few more liberals and mainstream media than it did last time."
Petersen is among 11 GOP candidates running in the Aug. 7 primary for the opportunity to take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill in November. The presumed front-runner in the race is Attorney General Josh Hawley, who stood on a stage with President Donald Trump in Kansas City Tuesday and later hosted a fundraiser with the president.
Last year, Petersen's personal Facebook account was blocked for 30 days after he used the social media platform to promote a raffle of an AR-15.
Facebook's rules bar the "purchase, sale or trade of firearms, ammunition and explosives between private individuals."
In Missouri, where residents can carry concealed weapons without a permit, political candidates giving away guns to raise money is not unusual.
A St. Louis Post-Dispatch analysis of state fundraising records shows at least six different campaign committees have raffled off guns in 2018. In February, for example, the Franklin County Republican Central Committee spent $2,275 on raffle items at Nick's Gun and Pawn in Washington.
In 2017, Missouri Ethics Commission records show 13 gun raffles, with participation from both Republican and Democratic organizations.
In the 2016 election, 22 gun raffles were held, compared with 14 in 2015 and 12 in 2014.
Among other statewide candidates for office, Rep. Paul Curtman, R-Pacific, has raffled off guns. In November 2015, records show his campaign spent $300 at a High Ridge gun shop for an "item for raffle."
Curtman is among four GOP candidates seeking to take on state Auditor Nicole Galloway, a Democrat, in November.
Petersen plans to give away the Ghost Gunner 2, which costs about $1,200. The machine is capable of milling parts for a firearm.
"DIY guns, or 'ghost guns' are untraceable by the federal government due to their lack of serial numbers," Petersen said in a press release.
Until last month, the U.S. government had been trying to stop people from posting 3-D printable gun plans online. But, in the settlement of a lawsuit, the ban will be lifted on Aug. 1, ending a multi-year legal battle that started when Cody Wilson, who describes himself as a post-left anarchist, posted plans for a 3-D printed handgun he called "The Liberator" in 2013.
Along with Hawley, other GOP candidates include: Brian G. Hagg, Bradley Krembs, Tony Monetti, Kristi Nichols, Ken Patterson, Peter Pfeifer, Fred Ryman, Christina Smith and Courtland Sykes.
