Lautenberg, Bloomberg Announce Support For Bill NJ Senator Sponsored To Keep Guns Out Of Terrorist Hands

Bill Gives Justice Department Power To Deny Guns To Terrorists; Mayors Against Illegal Guns Join Effort To Block Gun Sales To Terrorists

September 17, 2007 -- (NEW YORK CITY) -- Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (I-NY) today announced the support of members of the bi-partisan coalition of Mayors Against Illegal Guns for legislation that will keep guns out of the hands of terrorists.

The bill, S. 1237 / H.R. 2074, was introduced by Sen. Lautenberg and Rep. Peter King (R-NY) and, for the first time, allows the Department of Justice to prohibit known and suspected terrorists from buying a gun. Currently, terror suspects are not prohibited from purchasing firearms. This bill gives the Justice Department the authority to block such purchases.

“It defies common sense that nothing in our gun laws prevents terror suspects from buying a firearm. This 'terror gap' in our gun laws has been open too long and my bill will close that gap,” said Sen. Lautenberg (D-NJ).

“One of the most glaring mistakes in preventing 9/11 was the government’s failure to share information and connect the dots,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “As you remember, 2 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.”

“I can’t think of a more obvious disqualifying criterion from purchasing a weapon than being listed on a terror watch list,” said Rep. King, the ranking member on the House Homeland Security Committee. “It is unfathomable to me that we knowingly allow the transfer of firearms to these individuals. Changing this policy should be a no-brainer. Our role in Congress is to create laws that protect the American people, not to uphold those that give terrorists the right to bear arms.”

The Senator and the Mayor were joined by Trenton, New Jersey Mayor and President of the US Conference of Mayors Douglas H. Palmer, Jersey City Mayor Jerremiah Healy, New York City Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly and Devorah Halberstam, the mother of Ari Halberstam, who was killed by a terrorist wielding an illegal gun on a Brooklyn Bridge on-ramp near the site of today’s event.

The Lautenberg-King Bill Would Close the Terror Gap
that Allows Terrorists to Buy Guns

Currently, there are nine factors, such as status as a felon or evidence of serious mental health problems, under Federal law that disqualify an individual from buying a gun – but being a known or suspected terrorist is not one of those factors. The government is powerless to stop a gun sale to a terror suspect unless he also meets one of the nine disqualifying factors. The Lautenberg / King bill gives the Department of Justice the ability to use terror watch lists to prevent a terror suspect from purchasing a firearm from a licensed dealer. The bill also allows the Department of Justice to prevent known and suspected terrorists from working with explosives and from becoming a federal firearms license (FFL) holder. These DOJ determinations would be subject to judicial review and, under the bill, a suspect would have the opportunity to challenge the determination in federal court.

Following a request by Sen. Lautenberg, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found in 2005 that individuals on terrorist watch lists were able to purchase guns at gun stores in the U.S. The legislation introduced by Sen. Lautenberg and Rep. King is modeled on a bill drafted by the Department of Justice in response to the GAO report. Since the Lautenberg - King bill has been introduced, the Department of Justice has announced its support for it.

Terrorists Have Repeatedly Attempted to Purchase Firearms and Some Terrorists Have Already Attacked Americans Using Firearms

Individuals on various terrorist watch lists have bought guns legally in the past. According to the FBI and the Government Accountability Office, individuals on various terrorist watch lists were able to buy guns from licensed dealers 47 times during a nine-month span in 2004. In the New York area alone, terrorists have repeatedly taken lives in attacks using guns.

* On November 5, 1990 in a Manhattan hotel, El Sayed A. Nosair assassinated Rabbi Meir Kahane with a .357 revolver with a defaced serial number. Nosair was linked to the perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

* On March 1, 1994, Rashid Baz, shot and killed 16-year old Ari Halberstam on an on-ramp to the Brooklyn Bridge. Baz was armed with a machine gun, a 9 MM pistol, and a “street sweeper” shotgun.

* On February 23, 1997, Ali Abu Kamal opened fire on the observation deck of the Empire State Building with a handgun purchased in Florida in violation of federal law, killing one tourist and wounding six others before killing himself.

Source: Senator Frank R. Lautenberg

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