GOP rejects ban of gun sales to suspected terrorists
A proposal to ban the sale of firearms to individuals on the
FBIs terrorist watch list was defeated by House Republicans on
Wednesday.
Reps. Nita Lowey (D-NY) and David Price (D-NC) offered an
amendment to the Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) Appropriations bill
that would have given the U.S. Department of Justice authority to
block suspected terrorists from purchasing firearms and explosives.
Terrorists are knowingly exploiting our laws, Lowey said,
citing American-born al Qaeda spokesman Adam Gadahn.
The amendment was defeated in the House Appropriations Committee
by a 19-29 vote.
Americans expect our government to keep guns out of the hands
of felons, domestic abusers, the mentally ill, and terrorists,
Lowey said in a statement. A suspected terrorist cannot board a
plane but can pass a background check to buy a gun. It is absurd that
my Republican colleagues opposed our amendment to close this
dangerous gap in our gun safety laws.
Similar legislation has been proposed and defeated
before. The National Rifle Association claimed in 2011 such proposals
were aimed primarily at law-abiding American gun owners and
sponsored by gun control extremists.
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