Terrorist Watch List is No Hurdle to Gun Purchases
Another day, another damning federal report regarding the ease with which potential criminals can purchase guns in America. Just days after issuing findings
Jul 31, 20202.6K Shares664.4K Views
Another day, another damning federal report regarding the ease with which potential criminals can purchase guns in America.
Just days after issuing findings that thousands of guns are being funneled illegally into Mexico, the Government Accountability Office reported that, in the last five years, folks known to be on the FBI’s terrorist watch list have tried to purchase weapons on 963 occasions — and succeeded 865 times.
The reason is simple: There’s no law against it. From the report:
“„Under current law, there is no basis to automatically prohibit a person from possessing firearms or explosives because they appear on the terrorist watch list. Rather, there must be a disqualifying factor (i.e., prohibiting information) pursuant to federal or state law, such as a felony conviction or illegal immigration status.
Last month, New York Democratic Reps. Carolyn McCarthy and Steve Israel introduced a billthat would prevent those found to be on the Transportation Security Administration’s terrorist no-fly list from buying guns. The powerful gun lobby, however, opposes the conceptof keeping Second Amendment rights from suspected terrorists.
Hajra Shannon
Reviewer
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