- The Washington Times - Tuesday, March 26, 2013

A gun shop in Arizona has canceled Mark Kelly’s purchase of an AR-15-type rifle after he made media waves by claiming he bought the weapon to show the need for Second Amendment reform.

On March 5, Mr. Kelly, a former astronaut who’s married for shooting victim and former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, visited the Diamondback Police Supply store in Tucson, completed a background check and paid for an AR-15-type firearm, a .45-caliber handgun and several high-capacity magazines, the Blaze reported. The purchase came at a time when he and his wife had spoken publicly about the need for gun control and joined forces with several on Capitol Hill and in the gun-control community to press for legislative limits.

He could not take the weapons with him then because state law imposes a 20-day waiting period.

In the meanwhile, the news of Mr. Kelly’s purchase made national headlines, and he was forced to defend his actions from those who accused him of hypocrisy. The gun shop owner regretted taking his application, various media reported.

Now, the gun shop says it has turned down Mr. Kelly’s purchase after all. On the store Facebook page, shop owner Douglas MacKinley said he has refunded Mr. Kelly’s money in full.

Mr. MacKinley adds: “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 than for his personal use. In light of this fact, I determined that it was in my company’s best interest to terminate this transaction.”


SPECIAL COVERAGE: Second Amendment & Gun Control


• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.

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