Dave Workman: Kelly again uses faulty examples to push gun control measure

Former astronaut Mark Kelly’s testimony yesterday before an Oregon State Senate panel to support so-called “universal background check” legislation in the Beaver State once again relied on examples of crimes that would not have been prevented if the measure had been in place when the shootings occurred.

Mr. Kelly, testifying before the state Senate Judiciary Committee, observed, “The year before the Columbine massacre, Kip Kinkel killed two and wounded 22 others at Thurston High School, and just three days before the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary, a shooter turned Clackamas Town Center into a place of terror and carnage.”

Northwest gun rights activists say it’s time to derail Kelly’s gun control road show. His testimony yesterday in Salem was very similar to what he said ten days ago in Olympia, with changes to localize his remarks. Watch his Oregon statement here and his Washington statement here.

Yet gun rights activists say the measures Mr. Kelly was supporting, Oregon Senate Bill 1551 and Washington’s Initiative 594, respectively, would not have prevented the shooting of his wife, former Congresswoman Gabrielle “Gabby” Giffords because the measures are about background checks and the gunman who shot her and killed six others passed a background check.

Mr. Kelly should have done his homework before mentioning Kinkel and the May 1998 shooting in Springfield. Prior to bringing his guns to school, Kinkel murdered both of his parents, who were both educators. He drove his mother’s car to the high school and opened fire. He killed two students there and, as Kelly noted, wounded 22 others. The guns were purchased by his father, so a background check would have made no difference.

More Here at Seattle Gun Rights Examiner