Editor’s Pick: The Reload on Possibility NBC Gun Report Broke the Law

On Thursday, The Reload’s Stephen Gutowski reported that “NBC News may have violated state and federal gun laws while attempting to demonstrate how loose they are during a recent report.” He highlighted how “a collection of gun-rights groups are calling for an investigation into a March 17th report from the network,” with the groups arguing that “an NBC reporter’s decision to purchase a ‘ghost gun’ kit outside his home state and then give it to others to build into a finished firearm may have violated state and federal law.”

After Gutowski reached out to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives about the investigation request, the ATF “told The Reload it takes all tips provided to the agency seriously. However, it did not say if a formal investigation had been launched.” He pointed out that this was far from the first example of irresponsible – and even possibly unlawful – media reporting on guns:

It is the latest of a string of cases in which reporters have violated the gun laws they are trying to portray as too weak. Journalists at NBC, CBS and a Katie Couric documentary were subject to scrutiny over possible violations of federal and state gun laws in their reporting during the last decade. Gun owners have mistrust for major media sources due to these mistakes.

The Reload offers the entire article.