K-Romulus
Member
FYI THR crew . . . we should take a look at the details whenever the bill appears . . .
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/27/washington/27guns.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/27/washington/27guns.html
April 27, 2007
U.S. Proposal Could Block Gun Buyers Tied to Terror
By MICHAEL LUO
WASHINGTON, April 26 — The Justice Department proposed legislation on Thursday that would give the attorney general discretion to bar terrorism suspects from buying firearms, seeking to close a gap in federal gun laws.
The measure, which was introduced by Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, Democrat of New Jersey, would give the attorney general authority to deny a firearm purchase if the buyer was found “to be or have been engaged in conduct constituting, in preparation for, in aid of, or related to terrorism.”
Suspects on federal watch lists can now legally buy firearms in the United States if background checks do not turn up any standard prohibitions for gun buyers, which include felony convictions, illegal immigration status or involuntary commitments for mental illness.
But since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, local law enforcement officials and gun control advocates have raised concerns that terrorists might exploit loopholes to buy weapons.
John Ashcroft, the former attorney general and a staunch supporter of gun rights, blocked the Federal Bureau of Investigation from comparing federal gun-buying records against a list of suspects detained as part of the investigation into the Sept. 11 attacks. Mr. Ashcroft cited the Brady gun law, which sets out the federal system for background checks, arguing that it prohibited sharing such information for other law enforcement purposes.
In 2004, the F.B.I. instituted a new system that alerted counterterrorism officials when a terrorism suspect tried to buy a gun, giving them three days to find information to disqualify the suspect under the standard federal prohibitions. If the transaction was successful, details like the type of weapon and the place of purchase could not be shared. But if the purchase was blocked, the information could be turned over.
At the request of Mr. Lautenberg, who has long been vocal on the issue, the Government Accountability Office looked into the matter in 2005. It found that federal law enforcement officials approved 47 of 58 gun applications from terrorism suspects over a nine-month period.
Mr. Lautenberg introduced legislation to address the issue, but it stalled in the Republican-controlled Congress. His aides said Thursday that they believed things would turn out differently with backing from the Bush administration and with a Democratic majority in Congress.
But gun control is a touchy issue for Democrats, with many new lawmakers elected on pro-gun stances.
Mr. Lautenberg, who noted that the bill was only being proposed in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shootings, promised to push it swiftly to the floor.
“It took years, but the administration finally realized that letting terrorists buy guns is dangerous,” he said in a statement.
Andrew Arulanandam, a spokesman for the National Rifle Association, declined to comment on the legislation on Thursday, saying lawyers had not had time to review it.
After the Government Accountability Office report, the Justice Department created a study group on the issue. Nearly two years later, after repeated inquiries from lawmakers, Richard A. Hertling, acting assistant attorney general, wrote to Mr. Lautenberg in February saying that steps had been taken to address certain concerns, including encouraging investigators to visit gun dealers and review firearms applications every time a terrorism suspect was flagged trying to buy a weapon.
A letter signed by Mr. Hertling that accompanied the proposed legislation on Thursday said that in some situations it would be “counterproductive” to deny firearms permits for terrorism suspects, because that might alert them to official interest in their activities.
The legislation also establishes procedures for appealing a decision by the attorney general.
Dean Boyd, a spokesman for the Justice Department, said the process took time because it involved delicate issues, including “the protection of sensitive information upon which terrorist watch listings are based, as well as due process safeguards that afford the affected individual an appropriate opportunity to challenge the denial after it is made.”