Joe the Plumber giving away free assault rifle

Joe Wurzelbacher wants to
give away a free assault weapon.  / File

by Amulya Raghuveer Posted: 02.21.2013 at 7:05 PM Updated: 02.22.2013 at 12:05 PM TOLEDO -- Former Congressional candidate, Joe Wurzelbacher, wants to help create a safer America and intends to start by giving away a free gun. Wurzelbacher, or "Joe the Plumber" as he has been referred to since meeting then presidential candidate Barack Obama in 2008, says his website is hosting an "Assault Weapon Giveaway" with a free AR-15 assault rifle to be awarded to a "lucky winner" on April 1. The Holland man, and former Republican candidate, ran unsuccessfully against Marcy Kaptur (D) for Ohio's newly-structured 9th District in Nov. 2012. In a statement released on his website Thursday, Wurzelbacher said guns are getting a bad rap. "Despite what the left-wing media would have you believe, there is no such thing as an 'assault weapon'," Wurzelbacher stated. "Guns are defined by how they are used, and the AR-15 can be used for sport, collection, and personal defense. In order to honor this unnecessarily vilified piece of machinery, my site, JoeforAmerica.com will be giving away a FREE AR-15, valued at $1200." In August 2012, months after facing national backlash for his YouTube video about the Holocaust and gun control, Wurzelbacher made headlines once again for statements about illegal immigration. According to the Associated Press, Wurzelbacher said that the U.S. needs to build a fence at the Mexico border and "start shooting" at suspected illegal immigrants during a fundraising event for Arizona state Sen. Lori Klein in Prescott, Ariz. READ MORE