In the aftermath of the recent Orlando terrorist attack, the leftist mass media seems to have latched onto using either the Terror Watch List or the No Fly List as a panacea to stop terrorists from obtaining guns. They want to turn them into “No Buy” lists (even though terrorist gunman Mateen was NOT on either list!) The DHS compiles and maintains the No Fly List and the Terror Watch List and probably other lists that are classified and not publicly acknowledged. These lists are secretly compiled and often based on innuendo rather than any legal proceedings. Most alarmingly, these lists are riddled with thousands of false positives–the names of law-abiding citizens with no connection whatsoever to terrorist groups.
The leftist/statist hand wringers tell us that using the Terror Watch List to stop gun purchases is a “reasonable compromise”. Just try telling that to Wade Hicks, or to Walter F. Murphy (McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University), or to Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Daniel Brown, or to any of the hundreds of men named Robert Johnson who have been detained and questioned. Even U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy has been erroneously detained on at least five occasions.
The bottom line is that there is no real due process with these error-riddled lists. In fact, you could already be on such a list without your knowledge, only to discover it after filling out a Form 4473 to buy a gun from an FFL holder or after handing your passport to a CBP officer at a border crossing. The appeal/redress procedure is lengthy, and some people who have completed that gauntlet successfully have ended up being falsely flagged and detained again!
The proposed “No Fly = No Buy” legislation (or executive order) is a horrific concept. It flies in the face of the fundamental protection of Due Process. Please contact your legislators immediately and insist that they oppose any such new measures. Also warn them that the current uproar might be used as an excuse to ban private party sales of used guns, i.e. requiring ALL gun sales to go through a FFL holder. That poses an even greater risk to both our 4th Amendment right to privacy and our 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
By vigilant and be vocal, or we will lose our rights! – JWR
Note: Permission is granted for re-posting of this entire article, but only if done so in full, with proper attribution to James Wesley, Rawles and SurvivalBlog, and only if the included links are preserved.)