Josh Lipowsky -
World
Published: 19 February 2010
Sen. Frank Lautenberg has reissued his call
to the U.S. government to close a significant loophole in gun-control
legislation that allows terror suspects to
buy weapons.
Lautenberg's latest campaign against the
loophole came in response to government officials - notably Dennis C. Blair,
director of National Intelligence - confirming the likelihood of an Al Qaeda
attack on U.S. soil in the
coming months.
Last month, the senator asked the Department
of Justice if its investigation into Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad showed that he
appeared on terror watch lists. Muhammad, who allegedly shot and killed a U.S.
soldier and wounded another outside a military recruiting center in Little Rock,
Ark., in June, had previously been investigated by the FBI and recently claimed
to be affiliated with Al Qaeda. As of last Friday, Lautenberg had not received
an answer.
On May 21, before the June 1 shooting, the
U.S. Government Accountability Office had issued a report to Lautenberg, Rep.
John Conyers Jr., chair of the House Committee on the Judiciary, and Rep. Robert
C. Scott, chair of the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland
Security. According to the report, 963 cases of a known or suspected terrorist's
attempting to buy a gun were reported between February 2004 and February 2009.
In 865 of those cases, or 90 percent, the suspect received clearance for the
purchase. One application that was approved involved
purchasing explosives.
"It is outrageous that terrorists are able to
purchase guns in the United States," Lautenberg said in a statement to The
Jewish Standard last week. "Barring terrorists from buying guns is a common
sense way to stay one step ahead of those who are plotting to
harm us."
The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act
gives the Federal Bureau of Investigation and designated state and local
criminal justice agencies use of the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background
Check System to research people buying handguns. The system checks a person's
criminal background only, however, and does not check if the applicant appears on a terrorist
watch list.
According to last year's GAO report, under
Department of Justice guidelines, firearms and explosives applications are not
automatically disallowed if the applicant appears on the terror watch list. To
be disqualified the applicant must have a felony conviction, illegal immigration
status, or other accompanying
criminal record.
Furthermore, the Department of Justice has
recommended legislation that would allow the attorney general discretion to deny
applicants who appear on terror watch lists but do not otherwise have the
criminal background that would stop
their applications.
In response to the GAO report, Lautenberg
introduced the Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act
of 2009.
The bill would give the attorney general the
authority to deny firearms or explosives licenses or permits to known or
suspected terrorists when the attorney general has reason to believe such
weapons may be used for terrorism. It also requires the attorney general to
issue guidelines for how said discretionary authority will
be used.
The bill, under discussion by the Senate's
Committee on the Judiciary, allows an applicant to challenge
a denial.
"My legislation would give the attorney
general authority to stop those sales," Lautenberg said in his statement. "The
attorney general has expressed support for my legislation and I am fighting in
Washington to ensure the terror gap loophole is closed as quickly
as possible."