Kaptur "no fly, no buy" amendment rejected

By: Tom Troy, Toledo Blade
June 22, 2016

U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo) proposed an amendment to a House bill today that would prohibit a person on the "no-fly list" of the Terrorism Watch List from being able to buy a gun. It was voted down.

The exchange occurred during debate on appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security.

To put someone's name on the terrorism watch list a law enforcement agency must have "reasonable suspicion" that an individual is involved somehow in terrorism.

Republicans who controlled the committee voted down the amendment 31-16. Homeland Security Subc0mmittee Chairman John R. Carter (R., Texas) said reasonable suspicion is not a strong enough standard to deny someone a Constitutional right - the 2nd Amendment right to buy a weapon.

Here's video of the debate in the House committee: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpSDVIc-py0&feature=youtu.be&t=4440. Kaptur's amendment comes up at about 1:13.

According to Kaptur's office:

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) today sought to find a bipartisan compromise to a pending terrorist ‘No Fly, No Buy’ amendment before the annual appropriations measure to fund the Department of Homeland Security for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2016. Her attempt at a compromise was rebuffed on a voice vote after a lively debate, and the amendment was defeated, 31-16.

Kaptur attempted to work out compromise language on her colleague Rep. Nita Lowey’s amendment to prohibit only those individuals on the terrorist ‘no-fly’ watch list from purchasing a firearm.

According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report issued in March 2016, since February 2004, when the National Instant Criminal Background Check System began checking prospective gun buyers against the Federal Bureau of Investigation's terrorist watch list, individuals on the watch list have had their backgrounds checked for firearms purchases 2,477 times -- with 2,265 of those transactions allowed to proceed to purchase the firearm, and 212 were denied. That is a 91 percent approval rate.

“Why are some defending people who are reasonably suspected by the FBI to be terrorists, or terrorist sympathizers? If there is reasonable suspicion that an individual belongs on the terrorist ‘no fly’ watch list then they should not be able to buy an AR-15, or any other firearm,” Kaptur declared. “No fly, no buy.”

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