FBI to Create Group to Study Gun Law

NY Times ^ | March 24, 2005 | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

[neverdem]

Filed at 3:11 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- FBI Director Robert Mueller is forming a study group to review the law that let suspected terrorists buy guns in the United States after they cleared background checks.

Mueller unveiled his plan to form the Justice Department working group, which will include the FBI, in a letter sent Wednesday to Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J. The group will also review the government report issued earlier this month that said more than 40 terror suspects were able to buy firearms in the United States last year because background checks showed they had no felony convictions and weren't illegal immigrants.

The day the Government Accountability Office report was released, Mueller told a House subcommittee that perhaps the law could be altered. In his letter to Lautenberg, Mueller said ``I believe a review of the law regarding the National Instant Criminal Background Check System is warranted given the findings of the GAO report.''

The DOJ's Office of Legal Policy will spearhead the review, and will make recommendations to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Mueller wrote.

Lautenberg, who requested the GAO report, said Thursday that the ``FBI knows that terrorist access to guns in our country is a real problem.

``Hopefully the FBI can talk some sense into the rest of the Bush administration and put the safety and security of the American people ahead of the interests of the gun lobby,'' Lautenberg said.

When the report was released, the National Rifle Association had said the law protects Americans from terrorists while allowing citizens the freedom to own guns. On Thursday, NRA spokeswoman Kelly Hobbs said the NRA worked last year with the Justice Department to ensure that people on the FBI's internal terror watch lists are cross-checked.

``We will certainly work with the Department of Justice, the (Bush) administration, and congressional leaders to review the information and address terrorism concerns while remembering our core mission to protect the rights of law-abiding Americans,'' Hobbs said.

The GAO report said that from Feb. 3 through June 20 last year, 35 known or suspected terrorists bought guns in the United States. From July 1 to Oct. 31 last year, 12 more were allowed to buy firearms.

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On the Net:

Justice Department: http://www.justice.gov

FBI: http://www.fbi.gov

NRA: http://www.nra.org

[neverdem]

Keep concealed-carry list secret (Ohio)

We can't post from this source.

[300winmag]

The group will also review the government report issued earlier this month that said more than 40 terror suspects were able to buy firearms in the United States last year because background checks showed they had no felony convictions and weren't illegal immigrants.

Okay, so as far as our government knew, these people were "clean", but on a terrorist watch list? So what? If they can't arrest them, why treat them as criminals?

This is coming from Lousenberg and the other RATs who would give Miranda rights and a taxpayer-supplied lawyer to every enemy on the battlefield. But they would deny this right based on a database that they denounce as being a threat to everyone's civil liberties?

Catching terrorists my ass. They just want an excuse to disarm the non-terroritsts among us, and no excuse is too flimsy.

[neverdem]

That's a nice summation!

[John Lenin]

All they have to do is sneak over the border with the drug runners who will supply them with any weapon they want for a little cash.

[Route101]

Buy all your ammo needs now folks!....

[Wonder Warthog]

"Okay, so as far as our government knew, these people were "clean", but on a terrorist watch list? So what? If they can't arrest them, why treat them as criminals?"

So who in the Bush administration OK'd the FBI to do this?? Last I heard, the FBI was part of the executive branch of government, and NOT the legislative one--so there has to be some administrator in the FBI who gave the OK.

[Allosaurs_r_us]

The GAO report said that from Feb. 3 through June 20 last year, 35 known or suspected terrorists bought guns in the United States. From July 1 to Oct. 31 last year, 12 more were allowed to buy firearms.

 

Am I missing something here? If we new they were on a terrorist list why wasn't there communication to the background check database? I thought we were going to get the different agencies to communicate with one another.

 

Instead of giving the gun control freaks more "ammo", why don't we work on the bureaucratic B.S. that allowed these terrorists to slip thru the cracks. Or would that be to easy and be cost effective? We couldn't have that could we? Seems the first solution of any politician is to throw tax-payer money at it.

 

Never ceases to amaze me why the simple solutions are overlooked, while the gun control advocates focus on relieving the law abiding citizens of their Constitutional rights.

[FreedomCalls]

[Nebr FAL owner]

The people on the list have not yet been determined to be terrorists .Also be damned careful what you wish for I have seen here on FR copies of a flier published by the FBI listing traits & characteristics of potential terrorists. They include going to church regularly ,financially supporting your church regularly ,demanding to know the probable cause for searching your vehicle at a drunk driving/seat belt enforcement checkpoint,belonging to the pro-life movement,having an interest in what the corrupt political class call "assault weapons" this flier was passed out to sheriffs departments in the Southwest as a trial balloon & it went over like a turd in a punch bowl at the debutantes ball.

[Allosaurs_r_us]

"it went over like a turd in a punch bowl at the debutantes ball."

 

Same thing would happen here. Most of the cops hang around us gun nuts anyway. I don't think they will be labeling us terrorists anytime soon. The sheriff brings his 8x10 sign to put in the front of my property every time he needs re-elected. He pretty much feels the same way the rest of us do on the 2nd Amendment.