NRA: Don’t ban gun sales to suspects
May 4th, 2007 . by TexasFredWASHINGTON — The National Rifle Association is urging the Bush administration to withdraw its support of a bill that would prohibit suspected terrorists from buying firearms. Backed by the Justice Department, the measure would give the attorney general the discretion to block gun sales, licenses or permits to terror suspects.
In a letter this week to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, NRA executive director Chris Cox said the bill, offered last week by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., “would allow arbitrary denial of Second Amendment rights based on mere ’suspicions’ of a terrorist threat.”
“As many of our friends in law enforcement have rightly pointed out, the word ’suspect’ has no legal meaning, particularly when it comes to denying constitutional liberties,” Cox wrote.
In a letter supporting the measure, Acting Assistant Attorney General Richard Hertling said the bill would not automatically prevent a gun sale to a suspected terrorist. In some cases, federal agents may want to let a sale go forward to avoid compromising an ongoing investigation.
Hertling also notes there is a process to challenge denial of a sale.
Full Story Here:
NRA: Don’t ban gun sales to suspects
Here’s the caveat I think, terrorists aren’t going to buy legal guns, I think the NRA is trying to stir up some publicity for themselves, life in the office must be getting boring…
Seriously, no one in their right mind would want a suspected terrorist to be able to walk into Joe’s Gun Shop and lay out the $$$, fill out the papers and walk out the door with an AK-47 and a Springfield .40, but it’s just not going to happen like that, really, it’s not…
A terrorist will obtain his weapons thru a Syrian gun dealer, maybe from an old Soviet Bloc source or possibly a connection in Stockholm or Vladivostok, the weapons will be bought on the black market and smuggled into whatever area the terrorist needs them and likely will be bought in bulk, simply because a terrorist, a REAL one, doesn’t plan on throwing up the RED FLAG that would fly if someone on a watch list did try to buy a legal gun, they just don’t need or want the attention, it defeats the purpose of being a terrorist if you announce your intentions with legal gun buys…
I have had a few friends tell me I am not a true 2nd amendment guy because I also don’t think every person walking the street has a right to a fully automatic assault weapon, and it’s cost me a friend or 2 but I still don’t think everyone that wants a fully automatic weapon has a right to one, I don’t believe the framers of the Constitution had AK’s, Uzi’s and Mac-10’s in mind when they wrote the 2nd amendment…
We don’t need any MORE gun laws, we just need to properly enforce the ones we already have and not try to bastardize the Constitution so that we can have a 155MM Howitzer in every back yard, sometimes I think common sense goes right out the window with some so-called gun people…
I mean, there’s some gang bangers in L.A. that are actually legal citizens, never been convicted, even though you just KNOW they’re as guilty as sin, ya want to sell them a case of AK’s and a few shoulder fired rockets??
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Good point. You know you can’t legislate common sense. The anti-Gun’s and the Pro-Guns have their moments I guess. This time I think the NRA has went to far.
I believe every American citizen should have the right to possess a firearm, unless they have done something to cause that right to be revoked.
I believe any Illegal found in possession of a firearm, should be shot with said firearm. I believe any ex-con carrying or possessing a firearm should be sent to prison for 1 year for every bullet they had.
other than that enforce the laws already on the books and stop messing with the 2nd.
“We don’t need any MORE gun laws, we just need to properly enforce the ones we already have”
- right on the money, Fred.
The government can’t even police our borders, how the hell are they going to effectively police gun ownership, and would we even want them to. I know I sure as hell don’t.
I love Robert’s way of taking care of those caught possesing a firearm illegally!!
I think that the point of the NRA is that in this country, one is innocent until proven guilty. All you gotta do is call me a suspect and then you can relieve me of my rights? It’s a wedge that anti-gunners wil use to get their foot in the door. If a person is going to commit an act of terrorism by killing as many people as possible, (like Cho Seung Hui) it won’t matter where he gets the gun….HE WILL GET THE GUN. If he buys it legally it will only serve to provide an investigation avenue and more information about him to law enforcement after the crime has been committed (like with Cho Seung Hui). But passing a law preventing a person (any person) from buying a gun, won’t prevent them from actually obtaining one….nothing will.
Crack cocaine is illegal in every state in the union. There are statutes against its manufacture, its trafficking, its sale, it’s possession and it’s consumption. There are individual federal, state and local law enforcement agencies whose sole purpose is the prevention and investigation of violations of these drug laws. Even general law enforcement agencies have whole divisions whose primary objective is the enforcement of drug laws. There are even “drug courts”! But despite all of these efforts to prevent me from obtaining or punishing me if I do obtain drugs, I could walk out the door right now and within 10 minutes, buy, possess and consume the any illegal drug on the planet. Why do you think that is? Because laws are only instrumental in punishing crime not preventing it.
Owning a gun is neither more different, nor more dangerous than owning a car. (Cars are involved in the death of far more people each year than guns and knives combined) Obtaining a gun illegally is just as easy as obtaining a car illegally, or drugs, or prostitutes, or kiddie porn. If you want it, you can get it. Outlawing guns after the Virginia Tech would make as much sense as outlawing Ryder trucks after Oklahoma City. Personally, I’d rather Timothy McVeigh have taken his chances with an assault rifle than a fuel bomb…but that’s just me.