The Hill: GOP Struggles to Find Votes for Gun Bill

The Hill posted this article Wednesday night reporting Speaker Paul Ryan is having trouble rallying conservatives around his efforts to include an amendment related to the so-called "terrorist watch list" to an "anti-terror" package.  This follows up an earlier report posted Tuesday night that characterized the revolt as a "handful of naysayers" from the House Freedom Caucus.  From last night's article:

“They seem to be at wit’s end,” said Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.). “For whatever reason, they seem to be taken by surprise by the number of Republicans who have defected.”

The conservative revolt has forced GOP leaders to delay action on the package, which was initially scheduled to move through the Rules Committee on Tuesday and hit the floor Wednesday.

Making this part of a larger anti-terror package is putting strong 2A supporters in the position of voting against the larger package because the don't support taking away a civil right without due process.

It’s unclear how, or if, the Republicans will proceed. Some conservatives are floating the idea of splitting the gun provision from the larger anti-terror package. That strategy would provide an out for the conservatives opposed to the notion that gun control in any form is the appropriate response to the Orlando tragedy.

“It’s clear that terrorism shouldn’t be diverted to a gun control issue,” Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) told The Hill Wednesday. “That’s almost perverse, where you have a person mass slaughtering, whether it be in San Bernardino or Orlando. That’s not a gun issue.”

King, who is no friend of gun owners and who opposes Ryan’s gun measure in favor of stronger measures, suggested Ryan would back away from plans to move the firearm provision if they can’t win the support of more conservatives.  Keep calling your representatives and let them know you oppose any new gun control and that our Second Amendment rights should not be taken away by a secret government list.

Andrew McCarthy: Government Could Strip Every Constitutional Right under "Emergency" Claim

Andrew McCarthy had a great article on National Review Online yesterday about Chuck Schumer's (D., N.Y.) claim at a Judiciary Committee hearing last week that many constitutional liberties are routinely restricted in "emergency" circumstances — in particular, Fourth Amendment rights against warrantless search and arrest, so we should do the same thing to the Second Amendment:

President Obama and his allies in Congress seek to deny the constitutional gun-ownership rights of Americans merely suspected of terror ties — even as the Left champions the non-existent immigration rights of aliens from regions notorious for terror ties. The backbone of the Democrats’ stratagem is a specious “constitutional” claim, one whose logic would empower the government to strip every civil right the Constitution is designed to protect against government encroachment.

As posited by Senator Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) at a Judiciary Committee hearing last week, Democrats claim that many constitutional liberties are routinely restricted in emergency circumstances — in particular, Fourth Amendment rights against warrantless search and arrest. Hence, the argument goes, Second Amendment rights, too, may be stripped away if Democrats can concoct an emergency — such as the ongoing crisis in which guns, apparently with minds of their own, mow down infidels.

McCarthy continues:

It is black-letter law that a statute cannot limit a constitutional safeguard. Not only is the Constitution the higher-ranking source of law; the safeguard in the Second Amendment is a safeguard against government action. If government action could undo such a safeguard, the purpose of having the safeguard in the first place would be defeated. The Second Amendment, and indeed all constitutional guarantees against governmental abuses of power, would be null and void anytime government came up with an “emergency” pretext.

McCarthy, who as a U.S. Attorney prosecuted the "Blind Sheik" for his role in the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing, takes a back seat to no one when it comes to protecting the U.S. from jihadists.  But he also understands the Constitution and explains in great detail why this theory being pushed by  the gun ban Democrats is dangerous to liberty.  Read the entire article.

The Hill: House to Vote on Gun Bill Next Week

Just received this from thehill.com:

In a conference call Thursday, Ryan told rank-and-file Republicans that the House will take up a terrorism package that will include measures to disrupt radicalization and recruitment, as well as a provision to prevent suspected terrorists from purchasing guns, according to a source on the call.

It’s unclear exactly which bill will be brought to the floor.

Democrats launched an historic, daylong protest on the House floor last week demanding a vote on such legislation in the wake of the Orlando shooting rampage that killed 49.

Contact your congressman now and let them know you oppose any new restrictions on our right to keep and bear arms.

Delegate Michael Webert on How Arbitrary Restrictions on Rights Won't Prevent the Next Attack

At The Daily Caller, Delegate Michael Webert writes about efforts by President Obama, Hillary Clinton and congressional Democrats to use the terrorist attack in Orlando as a justification for a ban on so-called “assault weapons” and prohibiting persons on secret watch lists from buying firearms.

If the government is so intent on suspending the right of law-abiding citizens to exercise their Second Amendment rights on the basis of suspicion, then what is there to stop the government from moving to curtail other rights based off the assumption you might be a threat—not much. Today, it’s firearms, tomorrow it could include anything from being subjected to cruel and unusual punishment, limiting the right to a fair and speedy trial, to limiting the right to freely express oneself. Literally the possibilities are endless, and it’s not as far-fetched as it may sound.

Delegate Webert, who was deeply involved in the effort to roll back Attorney General Mark Herring's order on concealed carry reciprocity/recognition, appeared on NRANews on Wednesday to discuss the article in more detail:

McConnell to Allow Collins "Terrorist Watch List" Bill for Senate Vote

The Hill reports that Republican Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell is expected to bring a bill by Susan Collins to a vote possibly this week.  The Collins bill would block people on two so-called "terrorist watch lists" from buying firearms.  The NRA opposes the bill but McConnell responded through a spokesman that “He will not be dictated to,” regarding lobbying efforts to prevent it from coming to a vote.

No one on our side of the issue wants terrorists to be able to buy guns but as this blog detailed yesterday, there are lot more people than just terrorists on the lists involved.  The position of the NRA and VSSA is that no one should lose civil rights simply because their names are on secret government lists.  In 2014 a federal judge ruled that the government's method for allowing the public to challenge placement on the no-fly list was "wholly ineffective" and unconstitutional.

But that hasn't stopped the gun ban crowd from using the Orlando terrorist attack to push a gun ban scheme they have been pushing since 2007.  They are likely more interested in using the issue as a campaign issue and that has led McConnell to cave according to The Hill article:

Both sides are trying to figure out how the vote might shape this fall’s elections, when Democrats could win back the Senate majority by netting just four Senate seats if they retain the White House.

Some Republicans suggested Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) aren’t interested in a deal because they want to use gun control as a wedge issue in the fall against GOP Sens. Mark Kirk (Ill.), Kelly Ayotte (N.H.), Pat Toomey (Pa.) and Rob Portman (Ohio), all of whom face challenging reelections in states won by President Obama in 2012.

“Sen. Schumer and Sen. Reid are discouraging Democrats from voting for it, trying to peel off those who have co-sponsored it because they, I don’t believe, really want to come up with a bipartisan solution. They’d just like to keep the issue alive,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) grumbled to reporters at one point on Tuesday.

That doesn't mean however that Reid and Schumer won't in the end see this as an opportunity to say they beat the NRA:

“I think you’re seeing in real time the vice grip of the NRA loosening in this place,” said Sen. Chris MurphyChris MurphySenate Republicans may defy NRA on gunsSenators roll out bipartisan gun proposalDems blast Republicans after failed gun votesMORE (D-Conn.). “This is a watershed moment whether this gets to the finish line or not. You have Republicans scrambling to try to find a way to remedy their no votes [Monday] night.”

No Dana Milbank, Senate Protected Due Process Rights of Law Abiding Americans

Dana Milbank wrote this opinion piece posted on the Washington Post web site Monday night after the Senate voted down all four gun control amendments to the Commerce Justice and Science appropriations bill.  The article is titled "A week after Orlando, Republicans protect terrorists' right to bear arms" and is full of misleading information.  Here is a sample:

Nineteen days later, a man whom the FBI had investigated as a possible terrorist went into an Orlando nightclub and, claiming solidarity with the Islamic State, shot 49 people to death with weapons he bought legally.

The legislation couldn’t have prevented the massacre; it wouldn’t have taken effect for months. But it highlights an absurd situation: Lawmakers have known for a long time that those suspected of terrorist activities can legally buy guns, but the Republican majority, putting Second Amendment absolutism above modest national-security considerations, is refusing to fix the problem.

Nowhere in Milbank's rant does he tell his readers that the Orlando shooter was not on the "Terrorist Watch List." The shooter had been investigated and removed for lack of evidence.  Milbank, like the gun ban lobby, and Democratic legislators pushing this proposal, uses talking point phrases like "terrorist watch list" knowing that few if any of his readers understand exactly what that list entails.  Here is what Milbank and the gun ban crowd don't want you to know, courtesy of David Inserra at the Daily Signal:

What Is the Terrorist Watch List?
The Terrorist Screening Database is the official name for the main terrorist watch list; it is maintained by the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center. The terrorist watch list is the central U.S. repository of known and suspected terrorists, both foreign and domestic.

The list receives names of suspected international terrorists from the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment,  maintained by the National Counterterrorism Center in connection with the U.S. intelligence community and security agencies that have information on terrorists. It also receives data on domestic terrorists from the FBI.

The  terrorist watch list includes only information used to identify terrorists. The database itself does not include classified information on terrorists regarding what they have done and how we have been tracking them. This classified information is maintained in the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment for foreign terrorists, and at the FBI for domestic terrorists.

How Is the Terrorist Watch List Used?
From the Terrorism Screening Database, or terrorist watch list, more specific lists are created for different purposes.

For example, the no-fly list and the selectee list are used to prevent individuals from traveling or to subject them to greater scrutiny. For an individual to be included on the no-fly list or selectee list, additional evidence of his threat to aviation security and clear identifying information is needed above and beyond the standard of reasonable suspicion.

Another list extracted from the terrorist watch list is the Known and Suspected Terrorist File, or KST file.  For someone to be included in the KST file, clear identifying information is needed.

The National Instant Criminal Background Check System, used to check firearm purchases, draws on the KST file. Inclusion in the file does not itself prevent a gun purchase, but flags the purchase for further review.

The individual is allowed to purchase a firearm so long as he is not a felon, adjudicated to be mentally ill, a fugitive from justice, an illegal immigrant, or prohibited from making gun purchases for another statutory reason.

What Is the Standard of Proof to Be Put on the Terrorist Watch List?
To get on the terrorist watch list,  U.S. officials nominate an individual whom they have “reasonable suspicion” to believe is engaged in or aiding terrorist activities.
There must also be a sufficient level of identifying information to include an individual on the list. There have been, and continue to be, legal battles over whether proper avenues for redress exist to get off the no-fly list.

So How Did Omar Mateen Get His Guns?
Omar Mateen, identified as the killer in the Orlando massacre, was subject to two FBI investigations in 2013 and 2014. He was added to the terrorist watch list.

Following the conclusion of the investigations, Mateen was removed from the watch list.  As a result, when he went to purchase the firearms used in the attack, he was not in the KST file and was not flagged by the FBI.

Even if Mateen had been on the list, he likely would not have been prevented from purchasing a weapon. The FBI would have been alerted, however, and could have responded and investigated further.

That last paragraph is an inconvenient truth that the gun ban lobby doesn't want the public to know.  If someone on the list purchases a firearm, federal law enforcement is already alerted and can respond and investigate.

Remember that "no-fly list?"  The gun ban lobby uses it to push for their gun ban because it is "poll-tested."  Unfortunately, the list includes the name of a lot of people who are not terrorists.  People like the late U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, Representative John Lewis, singer Cat Stevens, children under the age of 10 and two journalists have erroneously ended up on the list.  Additionally, Representative Tom McClintock was on the list because he had the same name as an Irish Republican Army (IRA) terrorist.  That means they were all on the Terrorism Screening Database first before being put on the "No-fly" list since Inserra said the "no-fly list" is one of several created from the Terrorism Screening Database. It took Kennedy, Lewis, and McClintock months to get their names off the list.  Can you imagine how long it takes regular American citizen to get the matter cleared up?

American citizens should not lose basic civil rights without due process.  That is the reason all but two GOP Senators and Democrat Heidi Heitkamp (ND), voted against the Feinstein amendment.  It has nothing to do with letting terrorists have access to firearms as Milbank and the Washington Post assert.

You're going to see a lot more about this issue over the next five months.  I'm sure Dana Milbank will be more than happy to help our opponents distract the public from the real issue by continuing with poll tested talking points rather than laying out the facts.

Revival of Manchin-Schumer-Toomey May Come Up in U.S. Senate

The NSSF issued the below alert earlier today:

Call Your Senators Now. Tell Them to Vote NO
on These Amendments 

NSSF has learned that anti-gun U.S. Senators are expected to bring up a vote at ANY MINUTE this afternoon on the previously defeated Manchin-Toomey "universal background check" amendment as well as an amendment expanding the prohibited persons list to anyone unknowingly placed on a secret, error-prone government list, the so called "terrorist watch list."

Call your senators at 202-224-3121 as soon as you can and urge them to vote NO on both amendments.

Update: Politico reports that the "terrorist watch list" amendment has been defeated.

Katie Pavlich: Obama, Not the NRA, Sells Guns to Terrorists

Washington is all a twitter about resurrecting a 10 year-old proposal by the gun ban lobby to prohibit people on the government's "terrorist watch list" from purchasing firearms.  The recent terror attack in Paris has stoked this renewed interest.  Never mind that it is already almost impossible for a resident of France to own firearms.  That did not seem to stop the terrorists from carrying out their attacks.  Nor did it stop a New York newspaper from claiming the NRA wants to arm terrorists because the organization opposes using a list of names, that no one can say how it is compiled and includes the names of people who are not actually terrorists, as a means of keeping people from exercising a constitutionally protected right.

On Monday, Townhall news editor Katie Pavlich wrote an OP/ED in The Hill that says it's not the NRA that arms terrorists, but it is the Obama administration that is selling guns to terrorists. She detailed how the administration allowed thousands of guns to walk across our southern border to the drug cartels in Mexico, resulting in the killing of a U.S. Border Patrol agent and hundreds of Mexican citizents.  She appeared on NRANews' Cam and Company on Tuesday to discuss the article in more detail.

The Terrorist Watch List - The Gun Ban Lobby's Latest Attack on Freedom

Last week's eBullet included an article by National Review's Charles C.W. Cooke that detailed why gun owners and the NRA are right to oppose taking away civil rights of those on the so-called Terrorist Watch List.  Cooke noted that it is not just the NRA that is concerned about this ever growing list compiled in secret by the U.S. Government, the American Civil Liberties Union has expressed concern as well.

Courtesy of RushLimbaugh.com

NRA Commentator Colion Noir adds another voice to those who believe Americans should not lose their rights simply because their names may be similar to a possible terrorist.  The late U. S. Senator Ted Kennedy and Congressman John Lewis, ended up being stopped at airports because their names were similar to people who were actually being watched by the government.

Bloomberg Continues to Push Terrorist Watchlist Gun Control

After looking none too swift on Monday morning, telling Katie Couric that he bet Saturday's failed attempt to detenate a car bomb in Time Square was perpetrated by a "mentally deranged person or somebody with a political agenda that doesn't like the health care bill or something," he was on Capitol Hill today along with his Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, telling a senate committee that the nation needed more gun control laws - specifically a law that would make it harder for a terrorist to get guns. Never mind the fact that the alleged would-be bomber, Faisal Shahzad, attempted to use an SUV, propane and gas tanks, and about 100 pounds of the wrong kind of fertilizer.

Bloomberg is once again asking that people on the "Terrorist Watch List" be excluded from being able to purchase a firearm.

If society decides that these people are too dangerous to get on an airplane with other people, then it's probably appropriate to look very hard before you let them buy a gun.

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC)responded:

I believe my right to own a gun shouldn't be infringed because some nut is going to take a gun and use it wrongfully -- I just think you should prosecute them very swiftly and forcefully.

Graham continued that calling for legislation barring suspected terrorists from purchasing guns was "not appropriate," due to the terrorist watch list having "so many problems".

But that doesn't matter to Bloomberg. He, like all of his gun control friends, will take the opportunity of any tragedy, or in this case, near tragedy, to trot out proposals that offer no real solutions, but instead serve their political purpose.

Growing Terrorist Watch List Ensnares More People in Error

In today's New York Times, this article detailed how more people are being stopped from flying because their name ended up on the "Terrorist Watch List." And, according to the Times, the number of people that end up on the list and are stopped even though they have no connection to terror or terrorist are likely to rise as the Obama administration recalibrates the standards for identifying potential terrorists, in response to intelligence failures that let the "underwear bomber" fly to Detroit from Amsterdam last Christmas.

On Friday, the administration altered rules for identifying which passengers flying to the United States should face extra scrutiny at the gate. And it is reviewing ways to make it easier to place suspects on the watch list.

“The entire federal government is leaning very far forward on putting people on lists,” Russell E. Travers, a deputy director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said at a recent Senate hearing. Before the attempted attack on Christmas, Mr. Travers said, “I never had anybody tell me that the list was too small.”

No one knows how they get on the list, and all sorts of people from Gulf War veterans to Congressmen and U.S. Senators end up on the list. And the government will not tell you how to get off of the list.

The watch list is actually a succession of lists, beginning with the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment, or TIDE, a centralized database of potential suspects. Mr. Travers said that about 10,000 names come in daily through intelligence reports, but that a large percentage are dismissed because they are based on “some combination of circular reporting, poison pens, mistaken identities, lies and so forth.”

Analysts at the counterterrorism center then work with the Terrorist Screening Center of the F.B.I. to add names to what is called the consolidated watch list, which may have any number of consequences for those on it, like questioning by the police during a traffic stop or additional screening crossing the border. That list, in turn, has various subsets, including the no-fly list and the selectee list, which requires passengers to undergo extra screening.

The consolidated list has the names of more than 400,000 people, about 97 percent of them foreigners, while the no-fly and selectee lists have about 6,000 and 20,000, respectively.

And this is the same list that people like President Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and N.J. U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg want to use to prevent Americans from purchasing a handgun. Cam Edwards did a good job of dissecting this issue last year on NRANews.com



Gun owners should continue to be wary of those who ask us to give up a little freedom for security. Law abiding gun owners have no problem with denying known criminals and terrorists from having access to firearms. What we do have a problem with is keeping U.S. Citizens who have never committed a crime from being able to exercise their constitutionally protected rights.