Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch on Thursday threw her support behind a plan to deny firearms sales to those on terrorist watch lists, brushing aside the FBI’s concerns that it could interfere with their investigations and lending her backing to Democrats ahead of key votes next week.
Stopping sales to those on watch lists has become the focal point of efforts to “do something” in the wake of Omar Mateen’s terrorist-laced shooting rampage in Orlando over the weekend, with both Republicans and Democrats saying Mateen could have been stopped if their plans had already been law.
But they differ over exactly how much power the government should have to deny sales, and what sort of judicial review should be required before someone is denied his or her Second Amendment rights.
Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican, is proposing a plan that would delay sales to those on watch lists for up to three days, giving the Justice Department a chance to make its case to a federal judge that the purchase should be blocked. Authorities would be encouraged to arrest the suspect if he or she is deemed to have been part of a terrorist plot.
“It would not only stop terrorists from getting guns, but it would take them off the streets, and it would do so in a way that’s consistent with our Constitution,” Mr. Cornyn said.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California Democrat, has the competing alternative, which would give the attorney general the power to block sales, but would let customers go to court to try to have their rights restored — though under secrecy procedures to protect ongoing national security investigations.
FBI Director James B. Comey had thrown a kink in Democrats’ plans when he testified last year that banning sales to those on watch lists would harm his agents’ investigations.
“It’s a little bit challenging for us because ’known’ or ’suspected’ means it hasn’t been adjudicated in every case that somebody is a terrorist,” Mr. Comey said in testimony to Congress. “It’s somebody we’re investigating, so we don’t want to, obviously, blow our investigation.”
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Mr. Comey reiterated those concerns in briefings to lawmakers this week.
“If we do this wrong, like the president is proposing, we can actually blow our ongoing terrorist investigations. So we want to get this right so that we don’t undermine terrorist investigations,” Mr. Ryan said.
But the Justice Department says Ms. Feinstein’s latest proposal has taken care of those concerns.
“The amendment gives the Justice Department an important additional tool to prevent the sale of guns to suspected terrorists by licensed firearms dealers while ensuring protection of the department’s operational and investigative sensitivities,” department spokesman Dena Iverson said in a statement.
Republicans argue that the lists are shrouded in mystery, including how someone is listed. The lists number as many as 1 million names.
Mr. Cornyn’s proposal would send out an alert if someone on the terrorist watch list, or who had been on it within the last five years, attempts to buy a firearm or explosive. The sale could be delayed three days while the Justice Department goes to court to make the case that the transfer should be denied.
Mr. Cornyn’s bill would require the person be notified of the proceeding.
Democrats say Mr. Cornyn’s proposal puts too much of the burden on the government, though Ms. Feinstein’s latest proposal does move closer to the GOP’s stance.
Her amendment would grant the attorney general power to halt a gun sale based on “reasonable suspicion” of terrorist connections, but would allow the purchaser to seek review from a judge. The government could take steps to try to keep proceedings secret if they “could be expected to result in damage to national security or ongoing law enforcement operations.”
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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