The New McCarthyism: Leftists and the Terror Watch List

A House Democrat introduced legislation on Wednesday to ban terror suspects on the "No Fly List" from buying weapons, a day after a government report showed that at least 47 had been able to legally purchase firearms.
New York Democrat Rep. Carolyn McCarthy introduced legislation barring anyone included on the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) No Fly List from purchasing firearms.

This is the problem with allowing the camel's nose into the gun store: once the politicians can define who is legally allowed to purchase a gun they feel free to redefine that to suit the cause of the day. Whatever you think about guns, though, this particular bill is a bad idea: it denies anyone on the watch list, including American citizens, the ability to buy a firearm from a licensed dealer. It does this despite the fact that people on the watch list have not necessarily been convicted of anything.

You see, the various watch lists that the government maintains aren't lists of people the government is absolutely certain are terrorists. They are lists of people the government thinks might be associated with terrorism. For example, if you go to the same mosque as a known Al-Qaeda member, you might get your name added to the list. Or maybe it's just that your name is fairly close to someone else's name who does.

Or maybe it was that one-way ticket you bought last year (to bring your child home from college). Or the number of money orders you purchased (so your child could buy his books, pizza, and so on). Or the $10,000 down payment you made on your house.

There are lots of ways to get on a government list. In fact, according to some sources, the no-fly list isn't even an actual list; it's a set of criteria, and they put you on it if you meet those criteria when you buy the ticket.

The no-fly list is so far removed from reality that Senator Ted Kennedy was on it. Well, for the day or so it took a man of his influence to get his name removed -- but until he did, flying was not allowed.

The Government Accountability Office report Tuesday said people associated with terrorist groups had taken advantage of loopholes in U.S. gun laws that do not automatically bar a person belonging to such a group from buying a gun. It documented 44 attempts and 35 successful sales in five months of 2004, and another 12 sales later in the year.

Due process is a Constitutional Right, not a loophole. Before you can deny someone a fundamental civil right you must try them in a court of law, and obtain a conviction. If the government had evidence that the people on the watch list were actually terrorists, they would be arrested and thrown in jail.

Since you can't do that on suspicion of terrorist associations (and remember, folks, freedom of association is another fundamental civil right), you can't stop them from buying a gun, either. Any other course offends not only the 2nd Amendment, but also the First, Fourth, and Fifth.

And unless you think Senator Kennedy is a terrorist, you should be happy about that.

UPDATE: They also want a meeting with the FBI Director on the issue. Why they bothered to introduce the bill before meeting with law enforcement is indicative of how much weight they intend to give whatever concerns he might raise, assuming he bothers to raise any. The fact is, we're not dealing with suspected terrorists in the watch list concept. We're dealing with something much broader than that. The watch list here has no due process, no appeals process, no removal process, and no way to clear your name. As such, it cannot be used as the basis to deny Constitutionally-protected rights.

Posted on 2005-03-10 03:12:39.0 by matthew@triggerfinger.org

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