FBI Changing Gun Background System to More Closely Check Terror Watch List

[NNN0LHI]

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAP2CFWAND.html

WASHINGTON (AP) - The FBI is changing its background check system for gun purchasers to ensure people on terrorism watch lists are scrutinized more carefully before firearm purchases are approved.

A memo to FBI Director Robert Mueller from a senior Justice Department official, obtained Friday by The Associated Press, details the policy and also says there have been 14 confirmed matches of gun buyers whose names were on the FBI terror watch list, including one would-be buyer who tried twice.

Another 260 possible matches could not be confirmed, the memo said.

By law, a gun buyer whose name is on a terror watch list cannot be prevented from getting the firearm unless that person is prohibited for some other reason, such as a felony conviction, outstanding arrest warrant, immigration violation or domestic violence restraining order.

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[Tom Yossarian Joad]

1. Gun show sales will now increase exponentially.

:evilgrin:

[DoNotRefill]

4. Most gun show sales....

require background checks.

[Noordam]

2. Good even the NRA could not talk themselve around

this. If you are on a TERRORIST watch list, yes the FBI should know you are trying/buying a gun....DUHHHH..

[slackmaster]

3. Who runs these terrorist watch lists? Who keeps them? Where?

What checks and balances are in place to ensure that the lists are kept secure, and that the information on them is not used to unlawfully deprive anyone of civil rights?

How does one get one's name cleared from a terrorist watch list when it has been placed there improperly?

Can I file a FOIA petition to find out if my name is on a terrorist watch list? To which federal agency or agencies should I send the request? Or do I need to try to buy a gun in order to find out if I'm on a list?

What exactly is a terrorist watch list, anyway?

I don't know any of the answers, and I'm concerned that nobody else except people in the Bush administration do know the answers to any of these questions.

:shrug:

[DoNotRefill]

5. What do you have to do to get on a terrorist watch list?

Pose unpopular questions?

People with convictions for terrorism are already precluded from buying guns. People who are only thought to have connections to terrorist groups but who haven't been convicted of a crime shouldn't have their rights abrogated. Example: Pro-Palestinian posters in the I/P forum here may well end up on a terrorist watch list. Should they be denied their civil rights because they exercise them? I think not.

Remember the threads about the progressive event organizers refused air transport? Want to guess what "watch list" they were on?