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http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/09/17/mayor-endorses-another-gun-control-measure/#more-885
September 17, 2007, 3:27 pm
Mayor Endorses Another Gun-Control Measure
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg held a news conference under the Brooklyn Bridge
today to call on Congress to pass a bill that would allow the Justice
Department to block gun sales to people who appear on the federal government's
terrorist watch lists.
The bill, sponsored by Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, Democrat of New Jersey,
and Representative Peter T. King, Republican from Long Island, has the
support of the Justice Department. But gun control of any kind remains a
touchy issue in Washington, where many of the new Democrats in Congress last
year were elected on pro-gun stances. Michael Luo of The Times described the
bill when it was proposed in April.
Since 9/11, local law enforcement officials and gun control advocates have
raised concerns that terrorists might exploit loopholes to buy weapons. John
Ashcroft, the former attorney general and a supporter of gun rights, blocked
the Federal Bureau of Investigation from comparing federal gun-buying
records against a list of suspects detained as part of the 9/11
investigation. He argued that the Brady gun law, which governs the federal
system for background checks, prohibited sharing such information for other
law enforcement purposes.
In 2004, the F.B.I. instituted a new system that alerted counterterrorism
officials when a terrorism suspect tried to buy a gun, giving them three
days to find information to disqualify the suspect under the standard
federal prohibitions. If the transaction was successful, details like the
type of weapon and the place of purchase could not be shared. But if the
purchase was blocked, the information could be turned over. In 2005, at
Senator Lautenberg's request, the Government Accountability Office looked
into the matter and found that federal law enforcement officials approved 47
of 58 gun applications from terrorism suspects over a nine-month period.
Mayor Bloomberg said today that the Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition he
co-founded with Mayor Thomas M. Menino of Boston, had decided to come out in
support of the bill.
"One of the most glaring mistakes in preventing 9/11 was the government's
failure to share information and connect the dots," Mr. Bloomberg said. "As
you remember, two of the 19 hijackers were on a terrorist watch list, yet
they were allowed to board an airplane. Today, suspected terrorists cannot
fly - but they can still buy guns. We just can't afford to wait for another
attack to take these kinds of basic, common-sense precautions."
The National Rifle Association opposes the measure.
"There's no one more opposed to terrorists acquiring guns than the 4 million
members of the N.R.A., but just because you're on a watch list doesn't make
you a terrorist," said Chris W. Cox, the association's chief lobbyist.
Mr. Cox said the process by which the terror watch lists are devised is not
subject to the due process guarantees that criminal defendants are afforded
at trial. He noted that the watch lists often result in significant errors:
Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, was blocked from
boarding flights because his name triggered a similar name on the government's
no-fly list.
"To give a political appointee the arbitrary power - and it is arbitrary -
to decide who gets to own a firearm and who doesn't, with no due process, is
bad policy," Mr. Cox said.
Mr. Bloomberg, who has made gun control one of his major causes, appeared to
be trying to use antiterror sentiment to bolster his broader argument
against illegal guns.
Mr. Lautenberg joined Mayor Bloomberg at the news conference, as did Mayor
Jerramiah T. Healy of Jersey City and Mayor Douglas H. Palmer of Trenton,
who is the current chairman of the United States Conference of Mayors.
Under current federal law, there are nine factors - including status as a
felon or evidence of a serious mental health problem - that disqualify an
individual from buying a gun. The bill would give the Justice Department the
ability to disqualify people on terror watch lists from buying a gun from a
licensed dealer. Under the bill, a suspect would have the opportunity to
challenge the determination in federal court.
Mr. Bloomberg was also joined by Devorah Halberstam, whose 16-year-old son
Ari was fatally shot on March 1, 1994, on an on-ramp to the Brooklyn Bridge.
A Lebanese immigrant, Rashid Baz, was convicted of murder; he had opened
fire on a van carrying 15 members of the Lubavitcher sect of Orthodox
Judaism who were returning from a visit to the hospital where the
Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem M. Schneerson, had undergone surgery.
September 17, 2007, 3:27 pm
Mayor Endorses Another Gun-Control Measure
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg held a news conference under the Brooklyn Bridge
today to call on Congress to pass a bill that would allow the Justice
Department to block gun sales to people who appear on the federal government's
terrorist watch lists.
The bill, sponsored by Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, Democrat of New Jersey,
and Representative Peter T. King, Republican from Long Island, has the
support of the Justice Department. But gun control of any kind remains a
touchy issue in Washington, where many of the new Democrats in Congress last
year were elected on pro-gun stances. Michael Luo of The Times described the
bill when it was proposed in April.
Since 9/11, local law enforcement officials and gun control advocates have
raised concerns that terrorists might exploit loopholes to buy weapons. John
Ashcroft, the former attorney general and a supporter of gun rights, blocked
the Federal Bureau of Investigation from comparing federal gun-buying
records against a list of suspects detained as part of the 9/11
investigation. He argued that the Brady gun law, which governs the federal
system for background checks, prohibited sharing such information for other
law enforcement purposes.
In 2004, the F.B.I. instituted a new system that alerted counterterrorism
officials when a terrorism suspect tried to buy a gun, giving them three
days to find information to disqualify the suspect under the standard
federal prohibitions. If the transaction was successful, details like the
type of weapon and the place of purchase could not be shared. But if the
purchase was blocked, the information could be turned over. In 2005, at
Senator Lautenberg's request, the Government Accountability Office looked
into the matter and found that federal law enforcement officials approved 47
of 58 gun applications from terrorism suspects over a nine-month period.
Mayor Bloomberg said today that the Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition he
co-founded with Mayor Thomas M. Menino of Boston, had decided to come out in
support of the bill.
"One of the most glaring mistakes in preventing 9/11 was the government's
failure to share information and connect the dots," Mr. Bloomberg said. "As
you remember, two of the 19 hijackers were on a terrorist watch list, yet
they were allowed to board an airplane. Today, suspected terrorists cannot
fly - but they can still buy guns. We just can't afford to wait for another
attack to take these kinds of basic, common-sense precautions."
The National Rifle Association opposes the measure.
"There's no one more opposed to terrorists acquiring guns than the 4 million
members of the N.R.A., but just because you're on a watch list doesn't make
you a terrorist," said Chris W. Cox, the association's chief lobbyist.
Mr. Cox said the process by which the terror watch lists are devised is not
subject to the due process guarantees that criminal defendants are afforded
at trial. He noted that the watch lists often result in significant errors:
Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, was blocked from
boarding flights because his name triggered a similar name on the government's
no-fly list.
"To give a political appointee the arbitrary power - and it is arbitrary -
to decide who gets to own a firearm and who doesn't, with no due process, is
bad policy," Mr. Cox said.
Mr. Bloomberg, who has made gun control one of his major causes, appeared to
be trying to use antiterror sentiment to bolster his broader argument
against illegal guns.
Mr. Lautenberg joined Mayor Bloomberg at the news conference, as did Mayor
Jerramiah T. Healy of Jersey City and Mayor Douglas H. Palmer of Trenton,
who is the current chairman of the United States Conference of Mayors.
Under current federal law, there are nine factors - including status as a
felon or evidence of a serious mental health problem - that disqualify an
individual from buying a gun. The bill would give the Justice Department the
ability to disqualify people on terror watch lists from buying a gun from a
licensed dealer. Under the bill, a suspect would have the opportunity to
challenge the determination in federal court.
Mr. Bloomberg was also joined by Devorah Halberstam, whose 16-year-old son
Ari was fatally shot on March 1, 1994, on an on-ramp to the Brooklyn Bridge.
A Lebanese immigrant, Rashid Baz, was convicted of murder; he had opened
fire on a van carrying 15 members of the Lubavitcher sect of Orthodox
Judaism who were returning from a visit to the hospital where the
Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem M. Schneerson, had undergone surgery.