From the AP
WASHINGTON - The National Rifle Association is urging the Bush administration to withdraw its support of a bill that would prohibit suspected terrorists from buying firearms.

Backed by the Justice Department, the measure would give the attorney general the discretion to block gun sales, licenses or permits to terror suspects.

In a letter this week to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, NRA executive director Chris Cox said the bill, offered last week by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., "would allow arbitrary denial of Second Amendment rights based on mere 'suspicions' of a terrorist threat."

Is Osama Bin Laden a card-holding member of the NRA?

Nah, but imagine if Mrs. Clinton gets in there.

Do you want her playing politics with your 2nd Amendment rights? And you can bet your bottom dollar that like european liberals and quiche eating lefties, Mr. Bin Laden would love to see a disarmed US.

This issue cuts both ways.

Herbert Milhous Kissinger III

Bin Laden isnt a US citizen, so he ia already blocked from buying guns here.

If soneone is a suspected terrorist, a warrant should already be out on them, and that would block a gun purchase.

If existing gun laws were enforced,this type of a law is totally unnecessary.

How about a really useful law, that says if someone uses a gun to defend themself or someone else, they can not be prosecuted or held liable under civil laws, even if they technically broke a local gun law.

Nwokie, you know that many times "suspected" terrorists are not revealed until they are arrested.

Plus, even Bin Laden could likely go into a gun show and walk away with a weapon.

I totally agree we would not need new laws if current ones were enforced.

"Nah, but imagine if Mrs. Clinton gets in there."

Shouldn't the same logic be applied to every power the current administration proports to grant Bush?

OK, if we are going to cite an article, let's cite the whole thing, not cut it off in the middle of what the NRA spokesman was saying.

Here it is in its entirety;

WASHINGTON — The National Rifle Association is urging the Bush administration to withdraw its support of a bill that would prohibit suspected terrorists from buying firearms.
Backed by the Justice Department, the measure would give the attorney general the discretion to block gun sales, licenses or permits to suspects on terror watch lists.
In a letter this week to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, NRA executive director Chris Cox said the bill, offered last week by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., "would allow arbitrary denial of Second Amendment rights based on mere 'suspicions' of a terrorist threat."
"As many of our friends in law enforcement have rightly pointed out, the word 'suspect' has no legal meaning, particularly when it comes to denying constitutional liberties," Cox wrote.
In a letter supporting the measure, Acting Assistant Attorney General Richard Hertling said the bill would not automatically prevent a gun sale to a suspected terrorist. In some cases, federal agents may want to let a sale go forward to avoid compromising an ongoing investigation.
Hertling also notes there is a process to challenge denial of a sale.
Current law requires gun dealers to conduct a criminal background check and deny sales if a gun purchaser falls under a specified prohibition, including a felony conviction, domestic abuse conviction or illegal immigration. There is no legal basis to deny a sale if a purchaser is on a terror watch list.
"When I tell people that you can be on a terrorist watch list and still be allowed to buy as many guns as you want, they are shocked," said Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which supports Lautenberg's bill.
In the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings, lawmakers are considering a number of measures to strengthen gun sale laws. The NRA, which usually opposes increased restrictions on firearms, is taking different positions depending on the proposal.
"Right now law enforcement carefully monitors all firearms sales to those on the terror watch list," said NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam. "Injecting the attorney general into the process just politicizes it."
A 2005 study by the Government Accountability Office found that 35 of 44 firearm purchase attempts over a five-month period made by known or suspected terrorists were approved by the federal law enforcement officials.

This is a slippery slope. On one hand, you don't want suspected terrorists buying guns. On the other hand, you can be put on the "Suspected Terrorist" list just by having a name similar to someone who is a suspect.

Ted Kennedy was mistakenly put on the list (not that you'd ever want that drunk near a gun) because a terrorist used a name similar to his. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/20/national/20flight.html?ex=1250654400&en=f0c870 7234bed6fb&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland

Its a difficult call on this one. I'm a life member of the NRA and I can't decide if I support them on this or not.

"Its a difficult call on this one."

Now imagine being the ACLU. They've difficult calls to make all the time, but they always go down the side supporting civil liberties, even if axe murderers sometimes fall in between the cracks.

Nice tie-in Skep!

To me, this all proves that we listen to the single-issue groups like the NRA and ACLU, and then make up our own minds in the big grey area between the extremes.

I'll second that! Nicely done Skep!

We need single issue groups. They get stuff done where it's really needed sometimes. It's not all good, but it's generally more good than bad.

Completely agreed Sutton. That's how I do it.