Mark Kelly’s Universal Background Check Tour hit New Hampshire, where the ex-astronaut bought a Savage .30-06 bolt-action rifle. If you’re worried about Mr. Kelly facing the same travel hassles as you and me, don’t. The AP reports that the mouthpiece for Americans for Responsible Solutions (and his wife) are traveling by private jet. On the other hand, if you’re concerned that Kelly doesn’t understand that universal background checks => gun registration => gun confiscation => something really ugly, roger that. NPR quizzed Kelly on the subject. His answer leaves little doubt that he is—how do I put this in accordance with Nick’s suggestion that TTAG lose a little of its stridency—an idiot. Government stooge? Well-intentioned yet deeply-misguided American? Let’s go with that. Make the jump and judge for yourself . . .
Well, I haven’t heard the camel’s nose anecdote but they often talk about the slippery slope. And the leadership of the NRA, you know, uses those words a lot. You know, I have not seen the slope in Washington to be very slippery. You know, it’s almost impossible to get anything done. If anything, the slope is made of Velcro, which is something I know a lot about from being in space.
Velcro in space, eh? Wikipedia reports that each space shuttle flew equipped with ten thousand inches of the stuff. And yet none of the lessons Mark learned in grade school about the Second Amendment’s crystal clear language (shall not be infringed and all that) stuck. Oh wait. Kelly grew up in New Jersey. Never mind.