I am ambivalent about federal gun control laws. Some I support, some I would not. I prefer a broad outline at the federal level that allows a lot of flexibility at the state and local level, to account for differences in crime rates, population density, and culture. But Gail Collins is spot-on when she points out the cognitive dissonance involved when members of Congress are quick to toss aside habeas corpus and Miranda rights for U.S. citizens but are unwilling to deny gun ownership to people on the terrorist watch list. Either we are going to freak out and start throwing away legal protections for U.S. citizens or we are not. And if we are going to pick and choose which rights to maintain, it seems like the 2nd Amendment for terrorists is probably the wrong way to go.
The Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on “Terrorists and Guns: The Nature of the Threat and Proposed Reforms,” concerned a modest bill sponsored by Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey. It would allow the government to stop gun sales to people on the F.B.I. terror watch list the same way it does people who have felony convictions. Because Congress has repeatedly rejected this idea, 1,119 people on the watch list have been able to purchase weapons over the last six years. One of them bought 50 pounds of military grade explosives.
No one could predict that someone on the watch list might use one of those guns or some military grade explosives to kill innocent civilians. Right? They can’t fly on a plane, but they’re free to arm themselves to the teeth.