You'd expect raving sobbing nutcase Glen Beck to support selling weapons to people on the terrorist watch list. But it's not just Mr. Crazy. It's the rest of the Republicans too, who are ranting left and right about how if we don't let terrorists buy all the weapons they want to buy, then freedom is dead in America because if terrorists can't buy guns then nobody can buy guns. Or something like that. Hey, it doesn't have to make sense if you're a Republican.
I'd say that I was suprised, but no, I'm not. These are the same morons who ignored a warning "bin Laden determined to strike in America", after all. The stupidity and insanity of today's right-wing Republicans cannot be overestimated, because it is literally greater than any sane person could ever imagine.
-- Badtux the "Arm the terrorists!" Penguin
You are forgetting that if we don't sell weapons to terrorists then they can't do acts of terror. If that happens, they might not act up on that uppity liberal's watch and make him look bad or give them an excuse to kill more non-Christians.
ReplyDeleteThere are something like a million names on the Terrorist Watch List. DHS can put anybody on it for any reason or for no reason in a process that is totally opaque and has no means of appeal. Ted Kennedy was on the list.
ReplyDeleteI'm with the Republicans on this.
The only reason for incorporating the TWL into the background check process is that the political fallout when non-terrorists start finding out that they are on the list will be enough to smash the secrecy of the TWL.
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ReplyDeleteTwo things you guys are missing:
ReplyDelete1) The terrorist watch list in question is not the one that has a million names on it, but, rather, the one that has a few hundred names on it of people that the FBI is actively observing because of direct connections to terrorist networks.
2) The terrorists in question *ARE NOT U.S. CITIZENS*, and thus have no more right to buy a weapon in the first place than a convicted felon.
I view a no-buy list of this sort basically as the same deal as the No Fly list -- something which is actually a good idea because there are some people who simply should not be allowed to fly (or buy a gun for that matter), *if* there is due process if you're denied. That is, if you can appeal the denial to a court with jurisdiction over the BATF that can order your name stripped off the no-buy list if you do not meet strict criteria for inclusion in that list. But the tighty righties don't make that point of needing due process here, instead they shout, scream, wail, and mutter that a No Buy list means *nobody* can buy a gun. Which is just plain silliness.
- Badtux the Due Process Penguin
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSo, Purple, you're saying that crazy people and convicted felons should be allowed to buy guns? I'm sure they'd agree with you. But the majority of Americans would not agree with you. In fact, they'd think *you* were as batshit crazy as Glen Beck if you proposed such a thing.
ReplyDeleteRegarding locking people up because we think they're terrorists, the Constitution is quite clear that we can't lock them up until they actually commit a terrorist act. If you can't see the difference between being locked up and being on a list that doesn't let you buy a firearm unless you appeal to a court, I submit that either you're too stupid to breathe and chew gum at the same time, or you're batshit fucking insane. Either way I'm done with you.
- Badtux the Not-THAT-crazy Penguin
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ReplyDeleteWasn't it the McCarthyists who painted the people on that list as being some of the worse scum in the world? Did they not try to instill fear in the populace that at any time they could strike killing hundreds and possibly thousands? If they are that bad, why would in the world would we want them to have a gun? You can be assured that if they were in charge, they would not be opposing it. The McCarthyists are just using this to just be contrary to the democrats nothing more. In other words, they are being hypocrites.
ReplyDeleteOnce again: "If you can't see the difference between being locked up and being on a list that doesn't let you buy a firearm unless you appeal to a court, I submit that either you're too stupid to breathe and chew gum at the same time, or you're batshit fucking insane. Either way I'm done with you."
ReplyDeleteWhat irritates me about the GOP here is that they aren't at all interested in creating a better law, one that properly respects the Constitution by making sure due process is followed once your presence on a watch list (whether no-fly list or whatever) starts interfering with your ability to do stuff. Instead they put out bullshit that being on a list is exactly the same as being in prison. GAH, the stupid, it burns, it burns!
- Badtux the Snarky Penguin
I believe the law is clear on this: You have to be *convicted* of an appropriate crime, be in the country illegally or have been admitted into a mental hospital in order to be denied the *right* (not the privilege) to purchase a firearm.
ReplyDeleteSo now you want to add a provision that says "because the FBI says so" to it? You know, the same FBI which, over the decades, hasn't exactly amassed a rep as being concerned about rights and liberties?
No thank you. If they have done something wrong, arrest, try and convict.