Claeyt wrote:Not allowing people on the Federal Terror watch list to buy guns (77%).
This seems like a strange thing to approve of. I mean, the name is sure scary enough; 'Federal Terror Watch List' makes it seem like "oh we sure wouldn't want those people to have guns". But there are two problems here. The smaller one being that not all terrorists are on the list, so those who are can easily get those who aren't to buy them guns. These people we're talking about weren't on that list or any other list and had no criminal records. The man who bombed the Boston Marathon was also not on that watch list.
But the far larger problem is that not all people on the list are terrorists and do you even know what the criteria are for getting on the Federal Terror Watch List? They are actually very loose, vague requirements; you can be added to that list simply because someone who doesn't like you thought you were a little terroristy and wrote in a nomination. No concrete evidence is actually required, just an opinion that you seem shady. You can be added much more easily if you belong to certain "categories" of people. And once you get on it, good luck getting off, it's almost impossible. There are millions of people on this list, though we can't know the exact number since it's a secret and you won't even know if you are on it unless someone denies you air travel or something.
This list is a far cry from the convicted felon list which currently prohibits buying of firearms to those who have been given a (hopefully) fair trial and convicted of a crime. Denying people who are on this 'Terror' watch list from purchasing a gun is a punishment of someone who has not yet been proven guilty and may be completely innocent. It's against the Fifth and Fourteenth amendment to do this; it would be deprivation of liberty and/or property without due process of law.
Source:
https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/nsb/tsc/te ... -questionsEasy read article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/2 ... 17599.html