When gun control proponent Mark Kelly announced he was going to hand his AR-15 over to Tucson PD once he picks it up, it seemed he was trying to give the impression that he’s doing his part to get such firearms off the streets. The problem is, Arizona law may not allow that scenario to play out.
In fact, Arizona law may require the Tucson PD to sell the gun to a private citizen once they take possession of it.
This is because the Arizona house has already passed a bill–HB 2455–which adds voluntarily surrendered guns to the list of guns that cannot be destroyed. Instead, they must be treated as “assets” that can be sold to make money to help balance budgets.
HB 2455 is in the Arizona senate now, and it if passes there, it could be illegal for the the AR-15 Kelly bought to be destroyed after he turns it in to police.
This is but the latest in what has been a week full and twists and turns for Kelly: On March 4, he gave pro-gun control testimony in Colorado; on March 5, he bought an AR-15 and a semi-automatic .45 handgun from a Tucson gun store; on March 6, he took part in a gun control rally in Tucson; and on March 8, with Breitbart News actively investigating his gun purchases after being tipped off by Neil McCabe, Kelly suddenly announced he was giving his AR-15 to the Tuscon PD–presumably to get it off the streets.
Now, with HB 2455 making its way through the AZ legislature, Kelly’s AR-15 may end up in the hands of the first law-abiding citizen who wants to purchase it from the Tucson PD.