Though the NRA came under scrutiny because it opposed denying guns to those on the federal government’s list with suspected terrorists links and later stated it supports keeping firearms away from terrorists, the group maintains it has not changed its position. In his 2000 book, The America We Deserve, he wrote that he supported banning assault weapons, like the one used in Orlando, and extending waiting periods when purchasing firearms.
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“Many Republicans can’t accept a situation where the president of the USA is deciding without any oversight of the courts, who goes on the no fly list and therefore restricting the access of many Americans to buying guns”, said Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher, reporting from Washington DC.
Presidential hopeful Donald Trump on Wednesday said he will meet with the leading USA gun rights group about preventing people on a government terrorism “watch list” from buying guns, as some fellow Republicans considered new gun restrictions following the Orlando massacre. John Cornyn (R. -Tex.) and a majority of the U.S. Senate.
Trump has portrayed himself as staunchly pro-gun rights throughout his campaign, even claiming that his presumptive general election opponent Hillary Clinton wants to “abolish the 2nd Amendment”.
The NRA, often considered the most powerful lobby in Washington, endorsed the billionaire businessman and former Atlantic City casino tycoon last month.
But instead, the group opened the door to the Republican flagbearer, saying they would be “happy to meet” with Trump.
The shooter who killed 49 people at Pulse nightclub had been investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation twice, but authorities ultimately concluded there was not enough evidence to keep monitoring him.
In a CNN interview on Monday, Trump said that Sunday’s attack could have been prevented if people in the club had guns “with the bullets flying in the opposite direction right at him. right at his head”.
Trump has said in the past that he opposes letting someone on the terror watchlist purchase a gun.
The NRA on Tuesday cautioned against rushing to pass tougher gun laws, arguing they would do little to deter terrorism.
Hina Shamsi, the director of the ACLU’s National Security project, told the Huffington Post that watchlists would be an acceptable way to limit gun access only if there were a “major overhaul of the watch-listing system because it uses vague and overbroad standards, the result of which innocent people are blacklisted without a fair process to correct government error”.
Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced such a measure yesterday that would give the United States attorney general authority to block the sale of guns or explosives to known or suspected terrorists. According to an August 2015 survey from the Pew Research Center, 50 percent of Americans believe it is more important to control gun ownership while 47 percent believe is it more important to protect the rights of gun owners. Gun Violence Archive data suggest only three of the mass shootings conducted in the last two years were defined as terrorist activity. NRA says they want that, too, but won’t support the only way to ensure it happens.
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“What could possibly be the argument for allowing a terrorist suspect to buy a semi-automatic weapon?”
