“To begin with, Congress should act to make sure no one on a No-Fly List is able to buy a gun,” Obama said Dec. 6. “What could possibly be the argument for allowing a terrorist suspect to but a semi-automatic weapon? This is a matter of national security.”
But even the federal Government Accountability Office has indicated
thousands of innocent people have been mistakenly linked to terror watchlists. Some experts and critics contend the federal list process contains many errors and relies on an overly broad standard of reasonable suspicion.
Under Obama’s standard, even the late-Sen. Ted Kennedy, an ardent advocate of gun control while he served in Congress, would be blocked from purchasing a firearm.
In March 2004, Kennedy was stopped three times at airports in Washington, D.C., and Boston. Airline agents told the senator he couldn’t purchase a ticket because his name was on a list,
according to USA Today.
“If they have that kind of difficulty with a member of Congress, how in the world are average Americans – who are getting caught up in this thing – how are they going to be treated fairly and not have their rights abused?” Kennedy asked then-Homeland Security undersecretary Asa Hutchinson.