With nearly 40% of adults living in a household with a firearm in Arizona, and little appetite for gun control in the state, a newly released video of a Mark Kelly campaign staffer discussing his plans for gun control has raised concerns.
The video, released by Project Veritas, features Angelica Carpio, a Democrat staffer for Mission for Arizona, which identifies itself as “a joint effort by Arizona Democrats to elect Mark Kelly and Democrats up and down the ballot in 2020.” In the video, Carpio questions Kelly’s sincerity with voters — specifically when it comes to his views on enacting far-left gun control measures.
BREAKING PART 1: @CaptMarkKelly deceives AZ voters on true gun agenda
“I don’t think he’s fully been out there saying like ‘I want a full gun control type measure”
“Trying to be elected…then he’ll implement the (gun)measures”
“I’m defaming my campaign right now”#Expose2020 pic.twitter.com/KnQc3hrXrh
— James O’Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) October 5, 2020
Carpio claims Kelly’s public views are influenced, in large part, by his desire to attract Arizona voters who, if they knew the truth about his private support for imposing strict gun-control laws, would typically not support him.
“Arizona is [a] very Republican state, in general, like a red state,” Carpio said, adding, “I just think he wants to get those Independents, he wants to get those Republicans that don’t trust Trump anymore.”
Carpio went on to allege that Mark Kelly has not stepped out publicly to call for “full gun-control like measures” because, according to Carpio, “he just wants to get elected first and then he wants to go further.”
In the video, Carpio said Kelly’s approach is necessary to win in Arizona: “The problem is this is such a consequential state…I think he’s trying to get elected and then he’ll implement the [gun control] measures.”
This didn’t age well…#Expose2020 https://t.co/cPuUPqVRwc
— James O’Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) October 5, 2020
In 2013, Kelly’s organization, Americans for Responsible Solutions, released an edited video of his attempt to purchase an AR-15 in an effort to push gun control. Kelly’s effort to show “how easy” it is to buy a weapon failed.
The professionally produced video showed Mark Kelly telling his wife that he is heading out to show how easy it is to buy a gun. She simply slowly responds, “Background checks.”
The video omits Kelly’s purchase of the AR-15 and makes it appear that the two transactions only took little over 5 minutes.
In truth, the gun dealer, Diamondback Police Supply, refused to deliver to Kelly the AR-15, due to Kelly’s statements that the gun was not purchased for his personal use. The owner of Diamondback, Doug MacKinlay, canceled Kelly’s attempted publicity stunt purchase of the AR-15 made on March 5, 2013. MacKinlay determined that due to Kelly’s admission, it was in his “company’s best interest to terminate this transaction prior to his returning to my store to complete the Federal From 4473 and NICS background check required of Mr. Kelly before he could take possession of this firearm.”