Fw: NY Times: Guns for Terrorists

EDITORIAL: AN INSECURE NATION

Guns for Terrorists
Published: April 4, 2005

If a background check shows that you are an undocumented immigrant, 
federal law bars you from buying a gun. If the same check shows that 
you have ties to Al Qaeda, you are free to buy an AK-47. That is the 
absurd state of the nation's gun laws, and a recent government report 
revealed that terrorist suspects are taking advantage of it. There are 
a few promising signs, however, that the federal government is 
considering injecting some sanity into policies on terror suspects and 
guns.

The Government Accountability Office examined F.B.I. and state 
background checks for gun sales during a five-month period last year. 
It found 44 checks in which the prospective buyer turned up on a 
government terrorist watch list. A few of these prospective buyers were 
denied guns for other disqualifying factors, like a felony conviction 
or illegal immigration status. But 35 of the 44 people on the watch 
lists were able to buy guns.

The encouraging news is that the G.A.O. report may be prodding 
Washington to act. The F.B.I. director, Robert Mueller III, has 
announced that he is forming a study group to review gun sales to 
terror suspects. In a letter to Senator Frank Lautenberg, the New 
Jersey Democrat, Mr. Mueller said that the new working group would 
review the national background check system in light of the report. We 
hope this group will take a strong stand in favor of changes in the law 
to deny guns to terror suspects.

  In the meantime, Senator Lautenberg is pushing for important reforms. 
He has asked the Justice Department to consider making presence on a 
terrorist watch list a disqualifying factor for gun purchases. And he 
wants to force gun sellers to keep better records. Under a recent law, 
records of gun purchases must be destroyed after 24 hours, eliminating 
important information for law enforcement. Senator Lautenberg wants to 
require that these records be kept for at least 10 years for buyers on 
terrorist watch lists.

Keeping terror suspects from buying guns seems like an issue the entire 
nation can rally around. But the National Rifle Association is, as 
usual, fighting even the most reasonable regulation of gun purchases. 
After the G.A.O. report came out, Wayne LaPierre, the N.R.A.'s 
executive vice president, took to the airwaves to reiterate his group's 
commitment to ensuring that every citizen has access to guns, and to 
cast doubt on the reliability of terrorist watch lists.

Unfortunately, the N.R.A. - rather than the national interest - is too 
often the driving force on gun policy in Congress, particularly since 
last November's election. Even after the G.A.O.'s disturbing 
revelations, the Senate has continued its work on a dangerous bill to 
insulate manufacturers and sellers from liability when guns harm 
people. If it passes, as seems increasingly likely, it will remove any 
fear a seller might have of being held legally responsible if he 
provides a gun used in a terrorist attack.