A No-Guns List Is Not the Solution

By Adam Bates Adam Bates

After again failing to generate the political will necessary to rewrite the nation’s gun laws in the wake of tragedy, President Barack Obama, along with gun control allies in Congress, have been asking that question prominently and loudly.

Last week, Senate Democrats attempted unsuccessfully to bar anyone on the U.S. government’s expansive terrorism watch list from purchasing a gun. On Sunday, Obama suggested using the no-fly list the same way. If someone can’t get on an airplane, the argument goes, why should they be able to buy a gun?

It’s a good sound bite, and we plainly have an interest in keeping guns out of the hands of murderers and terrorists. But the policy reality is not so simple. The terror lists are inherently too inclusive, lacking in due process and susceptible to mistake and misuse as a means of stripping away constitutional rights.

“Gun crime and terrorism are important issues, but a secretive, process-free no-guns list is not a solution to either.”

Let’s get personal. Is your name on any of the government’s terrorism watch lists? Don’t be so quick to dismiss the possibility. Have you been critical of the government on social media? Have you criticized the war on …Read the Rest

Source:: Cato Institute