Mayor Bloomberg will head to Washington tomorrow to discuss the current federal loophole that, believe it or not, allows people who are on the FBI’s Terror Watchlist to legally purchase guns and explosives. Members of Congress have rejected the request to add this provision — introduced under both the Bush and Obama administrations — due at least to an extent out of a fear of the gun lobby, which has strongly opposed the measure to, as Bloomberg puts it, “close the terror gap.”
“We need Congress to have our back on this issue … it’s upsetting that, so far, they haven’t,” Bloomberg said Tuesday. “There is no silver bullet, but we have to give law enforcement every tool we can. New York City remains at the top of the terrorist target list, something we were reminded of this weekend.”
According to the Government Accountability Office, individuals on the FBI terrorist watchlist underwent firearm or explosives background checks 1,228 times in the past six years, and less than 10 percent (only 109!) were denied, the Huffington Post reported. Bloomberg will testify at a hearing Wednesday morning in front of the Senate’s Homeland Security Committee.
NYC Mayor Bloomberg Outraged; Will Call Congress Out On ‘Terror Gap’ [HuffPo]
