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From the Contra Costa Times (http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/news/7281850.htm):
Posted on Mon, Nov. 17, 2003
FBI won't flag terror suspects who buy guns
By Dan Eggen
WASHINGTON POST
WASHINGTON - The FBI has launched a new background check system that notifies counter-terrorism agents when suspects on its terror watchlist attempt to purchase guns, but regulations prohibit them from obtaining details if the transaction occurs, according to federal officials familiar with the system.
If the purchase is blocked by authorities, however, the FBI is permitted to launch an investigation of the person who attempted to buy the weapon.
The result, according to the officials, is an awkward situation in which terrorism suspects who do not complete gun purchases may be located, while those toting lawfully purchased weapons may not be.
More than a dozen suspects on the FBI's terrorist watchlist have attempted to buy guns since the system was implemented this spring, officials said. Authorities have declined to say how many succeeded.
The rules are the result of Attorney General John D. Ashcroft's interpretation of the Brady gun control law, according to Justice Department officials, who said they are simply abiding by the federal firearms background check system the statute established. The law bars authorities from sharing information with investigators about legal gun buyers and does not forbid terrorism suspects from purchasing firearms, officials said.
"Being a suspected member of a terrorist organization doesn't disqualify a person from owning a gun any more than being under investigation for a nonterrorism felony would," a Justice Department official said in a written statement
Gun control advocates said the rules endanger Americans by giving suspected terrorists an opportunity to evade scrutiny while obtaining weapons. The situation also has frustrated many law enforcement officials who are eager to monitor the whereabouts and activities of suspected terrorist operatives and their associates.
"This policy is mind-boggling," said Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg, D-N.J., who has frequently clashed with Ashcroft on gun issues. "We could have a nationwide lookout for a known terrorist within our borders, but if he obtained a weapon, the Justice Department's policy is to refuse to reveal his location to law enforcement officials.
Officials have declined to reveal how many terrorism suspects were able to successfully purchase weapons. It is also difficult to determine precisely how the system works, because both Justice and FBI officials have refused to provide details about it.
Congressional staffers who were briefed on the situation last month were told that at least 13, and as many as 21, suspects on the watchlist have attempted to purchase firearms since the system was established. Two law enforcement sources said subsequently that the correct number is 13, and that all of them had been suspected of links to terrorist groups, not domestic gangs.
When someone on the watchlist attempts to purchase a weapon, the FBI is allowed to search for additional reasons -- such as a previous conviction or mental illness -- to deny a purchase and launch further investigation, the Justice Department official said.
But it can do no more unless such an indicator is found, the official said.
Ashcroft -- who has presided over an expansion of law enforcement powers in the bid to prevent terrorism -- has enforced a relatively narrow interpretation of the Brady law, which was named for James Brady, the press secretary wounded in the assassination attempt on President Reagan.
Ashcroft, a longtime National Rifle Association member, has also altered the government's legal view of the Second Amendment by asserting that an individual's right to possess a firearm is not tied to the maintenance of state militias.
Shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, Ashcroft's advisers stopped the FBI from comparing a list of Sept. 11 detainees against a list of approved gun purchasers, arguing that under the Brady law, the Justice Department is prohibited from using such records for law enforcement purposes.
Before it was interrupted, the search had resulted in two matches, sources said at the time.
A Congressional Research Service report released earlier this year found that U.S. gun laws could easily be exploited by terrorists, who can obtain firearms and explosives by taking advantages of delays and loopholes in the system.
An al-Qaida training manual recovered by U.S. forces in Afghanistan included a chapter noting the ease with which firearms can be obtained in the United States and urging followers to "obtain an assault rifle legally, preferably an AK-47 or variations, learn how to use it properly and go and practice in the areas allowed for such training."
AK-47 rifles are prohibited under the current assault weapons ban, but numerous copycat models are legally available.
Eric Howard, spokesman for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said Ashcroft's interpretation of the Brady law is overly narrow and inhibits the ability of the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to monitor and prevent terrorism. Investigators should be allowed to have access to basic information about gun purchases by terrorism suspects, he said.
Posted on Mon, Nov. 17, 2003
FBI won't flag terror suspects who buy guns
By Dan Eggen
WASHINGTON POST
WASHINGTON - The FBI has launched a new background check system that notifies counter-terrorism agents when suspects on its terror watchlist attempt to purchase guns, but regulations prohibit them from obtaining details if the transaction occurs, according to federal officials familiar with the system.
If the purchase is blocked by authorities, however, the FBI is permitted to launch an investigation of the person who attempted to buy the weapon.
The result, according to the officials, is an awkward situation in which terrorism suspects who do not complete gun purchases may be located, while those toting lawfully purchased weapons may not be.
More than a dozen suspects on the FBI's terrorist watchlist have attempted to buy guns since the system was implemented this spring, officials said. Authorities have declined to say how many succeeded.
The rules are the result of Attorney General John D. Ashcroft's interpretation of the Brady gun control law, according to Justice Department officials, who said they are simply abiding by the federal firearms background check system the statute established. The law bars authorities from sharing information with investigators about legal gun buyers and does not forbid terrorism suspects from purchasing firearms, officials said.
"Being a suspected member of a terrorist organization doesn't disqualify a person from owning a gun any more than being under investigation for a nonterrorism felony would," a Justice Department official said in a written statement
Gun control advocates said the rules endanger Americans by giving suspected terrorists an opportunity to evade scrutiny while obtaining weapons. The situation also has frustrated many law enforcement officials who are eager to monitor the whereabouts and activities of suspected terrorist operatives and their associates.
"This policy is mind-boggling," said Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg, D-N.J., who has frequently clashed with Ashcroft on gun issues. "We could have a nationwide lookout for a known terrorist within our borders, but if he obtained a weapon, the Justice Department's policy is to refuse to reveal his location to law enforcement officials.
Officials have declined to reveal how many terrorism suspects were able to successfully purchase weapons. It is also difficult to determine precisely how the system works, because both Justice and FBI officials have refused to provide details about it.
Congressional staffers who were briefed on the situation last month were told that at least 13, and as many as 21, suspects on the watchlist have attempted to purchase firearms since the system was established. Two law enforcement sources said subsequently that the correct number is 13, and that all of them had been suspected of links to terrorist groups, not domestic gangs.
When someone on the watchlist attempts to purchase a weapon, the FBI is allowed to search for additional reasons -- such as a previous conviction or mental illness -- to deny a purchase and launch further investigation, the Justice Department official said.
But it can do no more unless such an indicator is found, the official said.
Ashcroft -- who has presided over an expansion of law enforcement powers in the bid to prevent terrorism -- has enforced a relatively narrow interpretation of the Brady law, which was named for James Brady, the press secretary wounded in the assassination attempt on President Reagan.
Ashcroft, a longtime National Rifle Association member, has also altered the government's legal view of the Second Amendment by asserting that an individual's right to possess a firearm is not tied to the maintenance of state militias.
Shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, Ashcroft's advisers stopped the FBI from comparing a list of Sept. 11 detainees against a list of approved gun purchasers, arguing that under the Brady law, the Justice Department is prohibited from using such records for law enforcement purposes.
Before it was interrupted, the search had resulted in two matches, sources said at the time.
A Congressional Research Service report released earlier this year found that U.S. gun laws could easily be exploited by terrorists, who can obtain firearms and explosives by taking advantages of delays and loopholes in the system.
An al-Qaida training manual recovered by U.S. forces in Afghanistan included a chapter noting the ease with which firearms can be obtained in the United States and urging followers to "obtain an assault rifle legally, preferably an AK-47 or variations, learn how to use it properly and go and practice in the areas allowed for such training."
AK-47 rifles are prohibited under the current assault weapons ban, but numerous copycat models are legally available.
Eric Howard, spokesman for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said Ashcroft's interpretation of the Brady law is overly narrow and inhibits the ability of the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to monitor and prevent terrorism. Investigators should be allowed to have access to basic information about gun purchases by terrorism suspects, he said.
