Kelly Gun Purchase: Former Astronaut, Husband Of Gabby Giffords Mark Kelly Attempted To Purchase Gun, Failed
The husband of shooting victim Gabby Giffords, Mark Kelly, was trying to purchase a gun to prove a point about how easy they are to buy. Although Kelly almost succeeded, Kelly was not allowed to purchase the gun in the end.
The point of Kelly's gun purchase was to prove how unobtrusive background checks were. Kelly spend $1,295 to purchase the gun. However, the owner of Diamondback Police Supply canceled the gun purchase before Kelly could get his hands on the weapon.
Kelly had been making public statements about how easy it is to buy a gun. He was trying to purchase an AR-15, which is the most popular assault riffle in the country.
CNN's Wolf Blitzer did an interview and asked Mark Kelly how it was to purchase a gun.
"You know it's actually pretty easy, you know for a weapon that is so deadly and is really designed for the military. Especially with the high capacity magazines it's a pretty easy thing to do even with a background check."
It turns out purchasing an AR-15 is not as easy as Kelly thought. The owner of Diamondback Police Supply, Doug Mackinlay put a stop to the gun buy after Kelly's statements that the gun was for more than personal use.
In a statement made on the store's Facebook page, Mackinlay said,
"While I support and respect Mark Kelly's 2nd Amendment rights to purchase, possess, and use firearms in a safe and responsible manner, his recent statements to the media made it clear that his intent in purchasing the Sig Sauer M400 5.56mm rifle from us was for reasons other then for his personal use. In light of this fact, I determined that it was in my company's best interest to terminate this transaction prior to his returning to my store to complete the Federal Form 4473 and NICS required or Mr. Kelly before he could take possession of this firearm."
People on opposite sides of the gun debate left comments on the store's Facebook page about the decision not to let Kelly purchase the gun.
Steve Greenblatt writes, "Too late, Dougie. Kelly's point has been made. You lose."
Catherine Brunetta posted, "Way to go Diamondback. Kelly is an opportunist using his wife's platform to send the wrong message to 2nd amendment supporters."
Kelly was denied the gun purchase and given a refund. He donated the $1,295 to charity, the Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program. Diamondback Police Supply donated the gun to the Arizona Tactical Officers association to use in a fundraiser.