Guns for Terrorists-Fine with the Right

Here's a story in the New York Times that just makes me feel great:

"On Terrorist Watch List but Allowed to Own Guns

WASHINGTON — People on the government’s terrorist watch list tried to buy guns nearly 1,000 times in the last five years, and federal authorities cleared the purchases 9 times out of 10 because they had no legal way to stop them, according to a new government report.

....people placed on the government’s terrorist watch list can be stopped from getting on a plane or getting a visa, but they cannot be stopped from buying a gun.

Gun purchases must be approved unless federal officials can find some other disqualification of the would-be buyer, like being a felon, an illegal immigrant or a drug addict."

Because, of course, illegal immigrants are far more likely to harm Americans than terrorists, right?

Now, just who would you think was in favor of selling guns to terrorists? Surely it must be those weak, Muslim coddling liberals we always hear about, right? Well, here's your chance to take a guess before all is revealed.

"Gun rights advocates said showing up on a terrorist watch list should not be grounds for being denied a gun."

“We’re concerned about the quality and the integrity of the list,” said Andrew Arulanandam, a spokesman for the National Rifle Association. “There have been numerous studies and reports questioning the integrity, and we believe law-abiding people who are on the list by error should not be arbitrarily denied their civil rights” under the Second Amendment. "

The National Rifle Association is concerned about the "integrity of the list." Isn't that interesting. This is apparently a new interest of theirs, similar to all of the conservatives who just discovered how important women's rights were, when David Letterman insulted Sarah Palin. You know, I don't want to be a cynic here, but are we sure that what the National Rifle Association is really concerned about is the threat to the sale of even a single gun in the whole country, damn the consequences?

"Mr. Arulanandam said the gun lobby would have to examine the details of the newest proposal before taking a position. But he added: “Senator Lautenberg has always been on the wrong side of the Second Amendment. His approach is not in the interests of public safety.”

And of course, nothing could be more in the interests of public safety than selling guns to terrorists.

If there was a single person in the whole world who was still deluded enough to believe that the Republican party and its supporters give one damn about our nation's security, this should end that. Republicans care about profits for business and the rich only. Even the most ludicrously blatant threat won't stand in the way of that.


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