NRA Says Position ‘Has Not Changed’: No Guns for Terror Suspects

In the wake of the Pulse Orlando terror attack, and amid heightened focus on the terror watchlist, the National Rifle Association (NRA) released a statement stressing that its position has not changed: terror suspects should not be allowed to buy guns.

The NRA’s statement says:

The NRA’s position on this issue has not changed. The NRA believes that terrorists should not be allowed to purchase or possess firearms, period. Anyone on a terror watchlist who tries to buy a gun should be thoroughly investigated by the FBI and the sale delayed while the investigation is ongoing. If an investigation uncovers evidence of terrorist activity or involvement, the government should be allowed to immediately go to court, block the sale, and arrest the terrorist.

But the NRA also stressed that “due process protections” outlined in the Constitution must be honored for “persons not on the list” and that “protections should be put in place that allow law-abiding Americans who are wrongly put on a watchlist to be removed.” It lamented that a process for removing law-abiding Americans from the list is not a priority for Obama, saying that he “and his allies would prefer to play politics with this issue.”

The New York Times reports that Orlando gunman Omar Mateen was not on a terror watchlist at the time that he bought his guns.

AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.