Gun control in America: How the ‘No Fly, No Buy’ ban on gun sales would work - TomoNews
- 8 years ago
WASHINGTON — A Florida congressman is calling for a ban on gun sales to people on the FBI terror watch list after a mass shooting in Orlando.
Democrat Ted Deutch said Washington should hold an immediate vote to close the loophole, which allows people on the database to buy weapons, the Washington Examiner reported.
Gunman Omar Mateen shot and killed at least 50 people at a gay club in Orlando on Sunday on injured dozens of others. Mateen was put on the database but subsequently removed after he was questioned by the FBI about terror links in 2013 and 2014, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The proposal to close the loophole would affect far more people than a so-called “no-fly list gun ban” voted down by the Senate last December.
Around 64,000 people are on the “no-fly” list, a fraction of the 800,000 people placed on the FBI terror watch list database under a standard of “reasonable suspicion,” the Washington Post reported in December last year, citing FactCheck.org.
Under current rules, the FBI is notified if a person on the terror watch list tries to buy a gun. However, a sale is only denied to that person if there is another disqualifying factor under federal or state law, such as illegal immigration status or a conviction, according to the Washington Post.
Under a bill defeated in the Senate last December, discretion would be given to the attorney general to deny gun sales to people on the terror watch list. The proposal was put forward after the San Bernardino terrorist attacks, but was rejected by 55 votes to 45.
U.S. President Barack Obama renewed calls for tighter controls on gun sales in the wake of the Orlando shooting.
Many Republicans oppose a ban because there are people on the FBI database who have never been accused nor convicted of a crime, according to the Washington Examiner.
Democrat Ted Deutch said Washington should hold an immediate vote to close the loophole, which allows people on the database to buy weapons, the Washington Examiner reported.
Gunman Omar Mateen shot and killed at least 50 people at a gay club in Orlando on Sunday on injured dozens of others. Mateen was put on the database but subsequently removed after he was questioned by the FBI about terror links in 2013 and 2014, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The proposal to close the loophole would affect far more people than a so-called “no-fly list gun ban” voted down by the Senate last December.
Around 64,000 people are on the “no-fly” list, a fraction of the 800,000 people placed on the FBI terror watch list database under a standard of “reasonable suspicion,” the Washington Post reported in December last year, citing FactCheck.org.
Under current rules, the FBI is notified if a person on the terror watch list tries to buy a gun. However, a sale is only denied to that person if there is another disqualifying factor under federal or state law, such as illegal immigration status or a conviction, according to the Washington Post.
Under a bill defeated in the Senate last December, discretion would be given to the attorney general to deny gun sales to people on the terror watch list. The proposal was put forward after the San Bernardino terrorist attacks, but was rejected by 55 votes to 45.
U.S. President Barack Obama renewed calls for tighter controls on gun sales in the wake of the Orlando shooting.
Many Republicans oppose a ban because there are people on the FBI database who have never been accused nor convicted of a crime, according to the Washington Examiner.