Was Gabrielle Giffords' husband planning to be a 'Straw Purchaser'

Mark Kelly, the husband of former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), has made quite a name for himself as an anti-gun advocate. Since his wife was shot in the head by Jared Loughner on January 8, 2011 Kelly has lent his face and voice to the anti-second amendment crowd. He has aptly served the Obama gun-control agenda in the wake of the Sandy Hook shootings.

Several weeks ago, Kelly testified before Congress and seemed to single out semi-automatic rifles for ridicule for what they do to innocent human beings:



That doesn't seem to square with what Kelly did in following weeks, on March 5th; he purchased an AR-15. Thanks to a timeline, Breitbart's reporting seemed to indicate that once Kelly learned that his purchase of a semi-automatic rifle, along with high capacity magazines, began making the rounds, the husband of the former congresswoman changed his tune and posted the following on facebook:

I just had a background check a few days ago when I went to my local gun store to buy a .45. As I was leaving, I noticed a used AR-15. Bought that too. Even to buy an assault weapon, the background check only takes a matter of minutes. I don't have possession of it yet but I'll be turning it over to the Tucson PD when I do.

Now, let's get on over to the issue of straw purchasing, which was a major component in Fast and Furious. Straw purchasing occurs when the person who buys the gun intends to give or sell said gun to a third party.

While the idea that Gabrielle Giffords' husband buying an AR-15 may represent irony and hypocrisy in spades, the straw purchasing charge may be a bit of a leap. Yes, Kelly signed a form that said he was purchasing the gun for himself and then later posted that he was going to turn it over to someone else but that "someone else" was the Tucson Police.

Far be it from me to speculate but here's my best guess at what went down.

Mark Kelly is taking the anti-gun positions not because he necessarily believes them but because he's become a political pawn and the pressure is overwhelming. On March 5th, he went to the store to purchase an AR-15 with the intent of arming himself. Once he realized that he'd been busted in a moment of palpable hypocrisy, he attempted to cover his tracks by justifying his purchase.

Sorry, Mark.

You've been busted and should start having as much courage on this as you did when you were launched into space.

Astronauts are not supposed to be cowards, political or otherwise.

h/t GWP