Mark Kelly tries to buy an AR-15 rifle
Courtesy CNN

Does anyone really believe that former astronaut, professional husband (of a spree killer’s survivor) and gun control advocate Mark Kelly bought an AR-15 in order to know how “easy” it is to buy an AR-15? Why wouldn’t CNN’s Wolf Blitzer—or any of the other sick-o-phantic supporters of civilian disarmament—ask Mr. Kelly if he’s bought one before?

‘Cause if Kelly’s got an AR-15 at home he already knows the process. Which, in Arizona, doesn’t include a “waiting period.”

Oh look! Mark Kelly to CNN: He and Giffords used NRA practice range. You thinking what I’m thinking? Well it ain’t what USA Today is thinking.

Giffords’ husband buys assault weapon to make point. Amongst the People of The Gun, point taken: the enemies of freedom are shameless two-faced fascists. UPDATE: an alleged eyewitness claims Kelly didn’t take delivery of his AR-15 because he’d commissioned a trigger job and flash hider.

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91 COMMENTS

  3. Looks like he fell in love with the AR’s while doing his research, and got caught. I agree, I bet he is a real gun lover and wanted one for personal use. It is ok for him and his family, but everyone else, it is too easy. Liar. And hypocrite. And as always, moron.

    • Let me sum this up succinctly.

      Ex-astronaut, gun lover, wife in House of Representatives with all the attendant big lobbyist/PAC money. He’s on chump-change pension. She loses job. She’s now on chump-change pension only as the lobbyist money has stopped. Their income has dropped by 90%. They have expensive lifestyle to uphold. Progressives approach them about being poster-children against gun violence, for a lot of money. He can’t give up firearms, though. Gets busted buying a couple on the down-low. That’s it.

      • If I’m not mistaken Kelley retired as an O6, his pension is hardly chump change. If he served 26 years (about the minimum to retire as an O6) his pension is in the neighborhood of $5,788 a month. Though I would like to point out it is not a pension. Until the age of 60 military retirees are not retired, they recieve a stipend, in exchange for which they agree to be subject to recall to active service. On my last deployment I brought two “retired” Majors with me to Iraq.

        I won’t dispute the “liar” and “hypocrit” portions of the argument however. Those are pretty self evident. Gun control is not about guns. It should be called people control. Its about keeping the little people little so they can’t threaten the lifestyles of the power hungry.

        • I’ll repeat. Chump change. When you have a wife reaping the cash cow of The United States House of Representatives, your quoted figures are chump change in comparison. Look through their glasses, not yours.

      • JD, it sounds like you have evidence of a crime. If they were using lobbyist money for personal expenses that is a crime. You need to turn it over to the FBI.

  4. Wow! He’s actually admitting on national TV that it was a planned straw purchase??!?! Wow.

  5. He brought home the .45 but he’s waiting to pick up the AR? Complete and total horseshit. In AZ you pass instant NICS you pay your money and the weapon goes home with you. The man is a liar.

    Too bad for him surrendered weapons must be sold back to an FFL instead of destroyed. Fail on two counts Mark!

    • Its possible that if it was a used AR, he may have had to wait 30 days. At Murphy’s in Tucson I bought a Makarov that had been sold to the store that day, I had to wait a month to take it home. I don’t know if it is state law, city statute, or just store policy, but there is the possibility he’s just mostly a lying hypocrite, but not lying about the wait.

      • How long ago did you buy the Mak? I’ve been buying guns here (Phoenix) for 25 years and have never had to wait even after the bullcrap NICS was implemented. Buy it that day, go home with it that day.

        • Not that I give the guy any credibility, but it is possible he got delayed on the AR purchase. this sort of thing has happened to me, buy a pistol and rifle in one go, have to fill out two 4437’s since one is a pistol, and get delayed on one. The general consensus was that it was my somewhat common name. CCW fixed those issues.

        • In the City of Tucson, a pawn broker must wait 20 or 30 days after buying something, in this case a rifle, before reselling it

        • Awww…. does someone need attention? Already filled up Piers Morgan’s inbox with fan mail?

          Arizona has an instant check system. If the system is busy you come back later and do the paperwork again. Kelly said he filled out the paperwork, paid for it then left without the rifle. There is absolutely zero waiting period in Arizona and it doesn’t happen here the way he stated it did.

        • I guess it is good to see that MikeB is still among the living (Mke: bet you never expected to hear that from me.).

          The article says why. He left it for trigger work and and the installation of a flash suppressor.

      • Most gun and pawn shops that I have visited have the same policy on used guns. When they take in a used gun, policy is to hold it for 30 days to be sure it isn’t stolen. I guess it takes 5-0 a while.

  6. In the Year 2025, when the Black shirts come for YOU GUN’S they don’t want YOU to have equal fire power to what they have.
    OH YOU SAY it could never happen, (Ruby Ridge, Wayco Tx).
    The 2nd Ammendment was not to preserve the right to hunt Deer.
    REMEMBER History repeats it self, Germany, Poland, South Africa, Cuba, When it comes to the USA I deerly hope “We the People” have the ability to Stand and Die with dignity and not be lead off to “Getto’s for exicution.
    Home Land Security with 1.6 BILLINON ROUNDS and US not able to Purchase 22cal amunition.
    Is there something wrong with this Picture ?

  7. I love how he kept re-directing back to “the bills currently being worked-up in the senate judiciary committee.” Nice. His handlers taught him well.

    • I like how he made a big deal about how “easy” it was to buy the AR then redirected to “universal” background checks as if they would be any different.

      Mark my words (no pun intended), this man is the new Sarah Brady and he’s not going away any time soon.

  9. Nice redirect on his part toward the end to get off the topic of keeping the .45. So all along he was going to keep the .45 but turn in the AR? He realized he was caught, knew he had to control the conversation and he is doing that right now. He has a PR machine behind him. Normal people don’t understand the nuts and bolts of controlling the conversation, but Mark Kelly does.

  11. If your a gun shop owner tell this jerk when he come into your gun store to get the blank OUT!!! Spit at him if you can.

    • Seriously. If you recognize him, you should either refuse him service or get it all on camera, with audio, and provide some real fuel for the fire.

  12. brady pledge/ I promise never to defend mine or a family members life, I will be extra carefull not to hurt the feelings of someone about to kill me or a family member, I will beg for my life because I know criminals are really decent compassionate people, I will save all the gang member lives that I can, I will never get help for my Stockholm Syndrome & live cowering in my shell because fighting is wrong(not to mention too scarry), I promise to spread this to as many people as possible. kelly, you are a prize, Randy

  13. What do you want to bet this guy ill be running for public office in a couple years. Sad thing is he’ll probably get elected.

    • Couple of years? Try couple of months. Once his gun grabbing venture fails he will take over his old wife’s old job.

  14. 1. Surely someone here can recognize the gun store he purchased this from based on the picture. That being said anyone at TTAG or ametuer slueths wanna try figure it out? I will call the store and spent their version of the story? Could be the store owner is his friend but with enough pressure why would they want to side with the gun grabber? I bet you dollars to donuts the store owner or salesperson has a whole other side to this story.

    2. Is it just me or does Mark look like what they would send you from central casting if you we’re casting a guy named Fritz the nazi. He looks über Gestapo-Ish.

    3. Mark should have come up with a more plausible excuse by saying “it wasn’t me it was my identical twin brother who bought it” http://www.aolnews.com/2010/10/11/twins-could-be-nasas-first-siblings-in-space-together/

    • The Kelly/Giffords may well be supporters of the 2A, but they are reaping a metric ton of cash to say otherwise. One word explains everything in this situation: money.

        • The Super PAC mentioned in every article. I love you self-appointed Internet police officers. Wake up. Politics is big a$$ money. Super PACs are even bigger money.

  16. Of course he will being running for office, federal, state office would be beneath him. Most pilots I’ve known have gaint egos and not above self promotion at others expense.

    • The only reason Kelly will run for office is to increase the household income, which was down dramatically with Mrs. Giffords being shot. Fortunately, this whole Super PAC thing came along first.

  17. “I’ve had guns all my life, but I wanted to find out how easy it was to actually purchase one.”?!? He’s not making any sense. But then I guess when you’re preaching to the choir (CNN) you don’t have to.

    • Eddie,

      It may well have been a waste of effort but I did send them an email using your contact form. I asked them much the same thing I did the other morning, that is, to refund Mr. Kelly’s money upon his return to the store (assuming he actually left the rifle there to begin with) and bar him from future visits.

      Hopefully we will be able to discover the rest of this saga from other sources.

      Tom

  19. I also think it is despicable that he uses his wife in this fashion when we all know she is an unwitting passenger on this ride. Not saying she would disagree if she were cogent enough to do so, but these people really have no shame.

    • And this surprises anyone, how?

      You are 100% correct sir. It’s unbelievable the depths people like this go, and they portray gunnies as the bad guys. I would wager that most “gun types” are of way stronger moral fiber than the anti gun crowd and would not ( and don’t) stoop to lying, duplicity, and general assholery to get their message across.

      • When you are on the side of truth, you don’t have to lie to convince people. Actually, if you have to cheat and lie to get people to see things your way, it’s a pretty good indicator that you are on the wrong side.

  20. What an absolute load of horseshit. You would have to be a complete moron to buy this story of his.

    What really makes me violently ill is how they got him on the Communist News Network post haste to try to spin their way out of this clusterfuck. Notice how Kelly is the new “face” of the gun control movement. Navy captain, staunch 2A supporter (yeah, right), combat vet, etc. They needed to stuff Feinstein and Schakowski in the “commie closet” and put out someone more palatable to middle America. Now, when Machine Gun Kelly gets nailed on his flaming hypocrisy they desperately try and backpedal and spin.

    In a way, I am glad this happened. It just shows the flagrant and outright elitism and hypocrisy that has characterized this debate for so long and undone their slick “messaging”. I hope our side never forgets this and everytime Kelly gets up to speak we throw it right back in their faces.

  21. Ban Astronauts.

    Fsck – they’re clearly the risk here. Straw purchasing for the Earth-bound.

    Isn’t that an episode of Ancient Aliens?

    -Pk

  22. I can’t believe that no one has thought that this was planned. I’m assuming it’s a 1911 bought but here’s my theory. Think about it, he goes in to buy an eight round capacity handgun(because that ‘s an acceptable amount of rounds) and buys an AR hoping that it gets reported by the media outlets. He can then state that he’s keeping the .45, cause he’s a guy guy after all, and plans on surrendering the AR because there is no need for that type of firearm. It’s a total ploy to make people think he’s a gun guy that thinks there are reasonable restrictions that need to be made without violating the 2nd amendment. It’s an attempt to appease the moderate gun owners, imo. Trevor~

    • It was indeed a 1911 and you may be right. From the start he and his wife keep throwing out that they are red blooded Americans from the south who love guns. Trying to appeal to moderate gun owners, but his true colors are showing now.

    • This.

      This was all planned out as a big mag/small mag contrast. It was not an impulse purchase to grab the rifle. Don’t forget the masters on the East coast are running this operation.

      • I don’t know it sounds like the ol’ captain has a few screws loose. If he wanted to do an undercover sting you would think he would have sent one of his interns.

        • One does not get a trigger job for an AR-15 one is going to turn into the police. This was not planned.

  24. So what exactly does this prove? Someone without a criminal background can buy a gun without too much hassle — so what? Is he disputing this? Does he want it to be harder for people who aren’t going to commit crimes? moron

  25. What a hypocrite. He says he supports the 2nd Amendment but, it is too easy to buy a firearm. It should be too easy for a law abiding citizen to buy a firearm. That is what the 2nd Amendment guarantees.

    Enforce the laws we already have. Make it too hard for criminals. Leave the rest of us alone.

  26. “Does anyone really believe that … Mark Kelly bought an AR-15 in order to know how ‘easy’ it is to buy an AR-15?”

    Let’s say that he really wanted one. Thus he thought that he could purchase one from a local gun store and no one would recognize him and call him on it. I have a hard time believing that he is that dumb.

    I also have a hard time believing that he would blow something like $1500 of his money to satisfy his curiosity. Either this guy is a moron or someone is paying him to do this.

  27. Prior to getting shot the Kelly-Giffords were pro-Second Amendment. I don’t think their personal attitude about guns has really changed that much. Much of the blame for the attack falls on fellow Democrat Sheriff Dupnick. The Lochners were friends of the Sheriff and he cut their psycho son some slack instead of treating him like a normal citizen and arresting him. I think that deep down inside Kelly knows this and is still a gunnie at heart.

  28. Not for nothing, but does anyone else get the creeps watching this guy? Something about him just not kosher. I will say that I wouldn’t be surprised to read that Marky babes went off the deep end at some point. Just cause you’re an astronaut don’t mean you can’t be nuts (e.g. lady diaper astro).

  29. I am going to show my opposition to drugs by going out and buying a bunch of drugs. And I’ll help the government by starting a cash for drugs program.

  30. Maybe he was just trying to show how easy it is for someone to just walk in off the street and get a trigger job. Do you really want just anyone to have a crisp, grit free, cleanly breaking trigger? Think of the accuracy improvement, not just anyone can handle that power!

  31. Gun-haters/grabbers think it’s OK to lie because the end justifies the means. They’ll cheat, lie, steal, whatever they have to do to achieve their ultimate goal of 100% civilian disarmament.

  32. Let me preface this by stating without misunderstanding that what happened to Ms. Giffords is a horrible tragedy.

    However it is worth pointing out that the changes in law that Mr. Kelly is advocating could very easily disqualify him from ownership. Why?

    He is married to someone with a known mental deficiency.

    I wonder if he has even considered it. Does he really think a bunch of idiots who ban guns by making long lists of them is going to be able to write into a background check expansion a mental illness provision that realistically isolates WHAT is wrong with the individual? Nope. It’s going to be very basic. “Do you or someone you reside with have a documented mental impairment or mental condition?”

  33. Regarding: “UPDATE: an alleged eyewitness claims Kelly didn’t take delivery of his AR-15 because he’d commissioned a trigger job and flash suppressor.”

    RF, please, please, purty please followup on this claim. This is the “smoking gun” that could prove the hypocracy of this man and take the wind out of their sails. Verification, please. (Have I said please enough?)

    Also, if this claim turns out to be false I would suggest you publish a retraction, you know for integrity’s sake.

      • The main Tucson newspaper had this to say – http://azstarnet.com/news/local/kelly-gun-purchase-sparks-outcry/article_f839e725-bcfd-5e86-870f-835db34957e8.html –

        “MacKinlay said a background check on Kelly was done when he bought the handgun, and when he returns to pick up the AR-15 a federal background check will have to be done.

        “By city ordinance we are required to immediately notify the city that we have acquired this gun and give the particulars. We are required to hold it for a minimum of 20 days. City police check to make sure the gun wasn’t stolen or used in any criminal activity,” MacKinlay said.”

        I am a bit mystified since I thought AZ had a preemption law, but that’s what was in the paper.

        • Note in the Ariz Daily Star that when Kelly buys an AR, it is a “military style rifle”, when we buy them, they are “Assault Rifles”.
          Words do matter.

  34. Yeah, the trigger job he wanted to spend a couple of hundred bucks on in order to turn in a nicer weapon to the local 5-0.

  36. I think with him and his wife being in public view on an emotional topic he has been concerned about their safety. If that is indeed the case, he is to be commended for taking the initiative for their security. Too bad though that he would deny the rest of us some of the tools he finds useful for himself.

  38. The USA Today reporter made reference to the 1st ammendment in regards to the Kelly purchase. I would hope that a REPORTER’s mistake would not involve the 1st Amendment.
    I certainlty don’t want soldiers quartered in my house.

  39. What is the source substantiating that he was getting a trigger job and/or a Flash Suppressor?
    That would negate his simple purchase navigation story.
    If this is true:
    How does he know a “still in the box” trigger is not good enough for his purposes?
    What’s wrong with a standard A2 anyway for an ignorant neophyte?
    Who exactly is quotable on his extra’s?

  40. Kelly’s problem is that he is disingenuous and is in bed with the anti 2A anti gun enemy for whatever reason.

    If he doesn’t wake up, get a grip on his true values and take control of his own destiny, he’ll just wake up cast aside discarded by his new supposed gun grabber friends once they no longer have any use for him.

    • Yah, he will be cast aside, but with a much bigger bank account. They will then just pick him right back up again with the next tragedy to further their Progressive political dreams. And he will go along with it, as he will again be paid big bucks.

  41. Am I the only one that finds it strange that there just “happened” to be an AR-15 available? Given how they’ve been flying off the shelves the past couple of months, and the ubiquitous “out of stock” and “on backorder” status lines I’m seeing, this is strange.
    That said, it is sad that he is giving aid & comfort to reduce civil rights in this country. I do hope that he comes to and changes his advocacy.

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