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Was Former Astronaut Mark Kelly’s AR-15-style Buy A Cheap Trick

Astronaut Mark Kelly and NRA VP & CEO Wayne LaPierre Battle at U.S. Senate Hearing over Gun Control
Astronaut Mark Kelly and NRA VP & CEO Wayne LaPierre Battle at U.S. Senate Hearing over Gun Control

Legitimate gun owners and supporters of the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment have good reason to be outraged by Mark Kelly’s publicity trick to further gun control efforts in America. According to published Fox News reports, the former astronaut and husband of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a shooting victim 2 years ago in Tucson, Arizona purchased an AR-15-style rifle and a 45.-caliber handgun.

This comes on the heels of his highly publicized efforts in both Congress as well as in Colorado to assault the U.S. Constitutional rights of legal gun owners to own weapons. In fact, his comments which he posted on Facebook, according to published reports seem disingenuous, when he states that people could easily buy similar guns at gun shows or over the internet without background checks.

The fact is, Kelly did actually do exactly what other law-abiding citizens in Arizona or any other state in the union have done beforehand. The Diamondback Police Supply gun shop where he reportedly purchased the weapons from, followed state law and had him undergo the mandatory background check.

Well, surprise, surprise he passed without any hiccups. So what was his point?

Many supporters of gun rights have weighed in on his open display of reactionary theater, by correctly pointing out that his entire stunt accomplished was to bring attention to his and his wife’s newly formed gun control organization named, Americans for Responsible Solutions.

It appears that the organization’s leader, Kelly, was actually seeking to create irresponsible reactions from fellow gun control sympathizers who would somehow rise up in hysteria and join up or gin up more donations to his national gun control cause.

What Kelly does not seem to want to accept, is that as tragic and woefully unfortunate the mass shooting of his wife and others on that horrendous day in the Tucson area shopping center, it was not performed by law abiding citizens going on a rampage.

Her attempted assassination was due to largely in part to relaxed mental health laws dealing with mentally unbalanced and severely disturbed individuals that the mental health system in Arizona and other states have not be responsible for.

Kelly, instead resorted to the quick, the easy, and the attention-headline grabbing techniques which are assured to raise the ire of mainstream media liberal heads. The goal of course is to place greater pressure on states like Colorado, which was recently caught up in a monumental gun control pitched battle in their democrat controlled state legislature. That highly restrictive gun control legislation has now been signed into law.  What states are next to fall victim?

It is truly quite unfortunate, that a man who has given such admirable service to this nation, could be given to publicity stunts that actually undermine the very protections he served to uphold.
So where again is the news value in his attempt? The owner of the gun shop actually had to hold onto the weapon for the required 20 days, to ascertain if the weapon had actually been used in a crime. Again, where is the news and where is the imagined harm?

Nothing, you might say. And that would be absolutely correct, because Kelly’s point is a red herring. There is no news made if Kelly, were an ordinary citizen who decided to follow the laws of Tucson, and the state of Arizona and legally purchase weapons. But it becomes news by name association.

Well, here is a bit of news that protectors of the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment rights can pass onto former astronaut Mark Kelly. Cheap parlor tricks will not destroy or impede the ability to Americans to exercise their right to bear arms.

Instead, Kelly should focus his and his organization’s attention on the real problem and that is to make certain that states and localities actually enforce the laws on the books and prosecute criminal offenders in cities like Chicago, which owns the nation’s highest murder rate.

If Americans for Responsible Solutions wants a real solution then start your efforts in Chicago. Help the parents and the innocents being assaulted in Chicago and get Obama’s former chief-of-staff, Mayor Rahm Emanuel to stop attacking gun rights and punish criminals who use guns to murder in that city.

Now that would be a real responsible solution all Americans could support!

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Kelly: Buying AR-15 was “pretty easy”

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Kevin Fobbs

Kevin Fobbs is the former Community Concerns columnist for 12 years with The Detroit News covering community, family relations, domestic abuse, education, government relations, education, and dispute resolution. He has written for "Michigan Chronicle," “GOPUSA”, Fobbs was government and civic affairs director for SoulSource, a Christian news magazine, and host of The Kevin Fobbs Show www.kevinfobbs.com. He has written as the Christian and Culture examiner for Ann Arbor Examiner: https://www.examiner.com/x-33782-Ann-Arbor-Christianity--Culture-Examiner, and Ann Arbor and Cleveland Conservative Examiner: https://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-ann-arbor/kevin-fobbs His weekly faith-based Hearken The Watchmen column provides insight and answers on family, faith, and how to arrive at faith-based solutions to life challenges. His e-How articles range from, legal, health and education to electronic and culture and entertainment as well as home and business. Served 12 year as a gubernatorial appointee for Michigan’s Wayne County Social Services Board. He worked primarily on parenting and early childhood educational policy, domestic violence, family and children protection policy concerns. Developed programs to help parents develop healthy coping skills in the raising of their children. Was extensively involved in developing parental and child, family support networks at the local, county, and federal level. Kevin Fobbs has more than 35 years of wide-ranging experience as a community and tenant organizer, Legal Services outreach program director, public relations consultant, business executive, gubernatorial and presidential appointee, political advisor, writer, and national lecturer. He has been in the forefront of communications initiatives; devised and implemented strategies to win political and public support for client public policy issues and positions; directed electoral campaigns; and spearheaded as well as managed state and regional referendum, electoral, White House Initiatives, including Education, Social Security, Welfare Reform. Faith-Based Initiatives and many others. Kevin is co-chair and co-founder of AC-3 (American-Canadian Conservative Coalition) that focuses on issues on both sides of the border between the two countries. The American – Canadian Conservative Coalition (AC3) is a joint effort by grassroots Americans and Canadians to share information, issues, and policies that affect us individually and jointly. AC3 members are politically conservative and share the ideals of self-sufficiency, fair business competition, strong families, and joint homeland security. Above all, we believe in the right to freely exercise our chosen religion based on the principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law outlined in the founding documents of our country.

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