Tucson gun shop owner cancels rifle sale to Mark Kelly, astronaut husband of Gabrielle Giffords (VIDEO)

The owner of a Tucson gun store has canceled the sale of an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle by Mark Kelly, the ex-astronaut husband of Gabrielle Giffords, because he did not plan to keep the gun for personal use.

Doug MacKinlay, owner of Diamondback Police Supply posted on the store’s Facebook page Monday that:

"I determined that it was in my company’s best interest to terminate this transaction prior to his returning to my store to complete the Federal Form 4473 and NICS (National Instant Criminal Background Check System) required of Mr. Kelly before he could take possession of this firearm."

He said a full refund had been sent to Kelly via express mail, adding that:

"While I support and respect Mark Kelly’s 2nd Amendment rights to purchase, possess, and use firearms in a safe and responsible manner, his recent statements to the media made it clear that his intent in purchasing the Sig Sauer M400 5.56mm rifle from us was for reasons other then for his personal use,' the store owner said in a statement."

Kelly, along with Giffords, the Arizona Democrat wounded in a January 2011 shooting that left six dead, are outspoken advocates of new gun control measures.

The pair founded a political action committee to lobby for universal background checks for gun buyers and have urged restrictions on the sale of high-capacity magazines.

Kelly had spoken of his intention to buy a rifle to demonstrate how easy it is to buy high-powered weapons, CNN reported, adding that the AR-15 is one of America's top-selling firearms.

The Daily Mail cited MacKinlay said that he plans to raffle off the gun to raise funds for law enforcement, and donate the value of the rifle to a firearms safety organization.

Amateur video showing Kelly pulling a dog off a baby sea lion at a California beach over the weekend been posted on YouTube.

The attack reportedly happened at Laguna Beach, where Giffords and Kelly were vacationing.