Repeater
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Obviously, Chuck practices the Rahm Doctrine: "Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste" ...
Sen. Schumer: Let's stop loopholes that allowed Fort Hood killer Nidal Hasan to arm himself
Senator Chuck Schumer called on the U.S. Justice Department to break down "bureaucratic fire walls" that allowed accused killer Maj. Nidal Hasan to arm himself for his Fort Hood rampage."
A giant red flag should have been waved when Maj. Hasan tried to buy a gun," Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters Sunday.
Hasan - the subject of a Joint Terrorism Task Force probe into his contacts with a radical imam with suspected Al Qaeda ties - passed a background check when he made his purchase at Guns Galore in Killeen, Tex.
"The Fort Hood shooter didn't just slip through the cracks," Schumer said. "He walked right through a gaping hole in the federal system to keep guns out of the hands of potential terrorists."
Had task force members been alerted, they might have stepped up their scrutiny of Hasan and possibly averted the massacre that left 13 people dead, Schumer said.
Subjects of terror investigations are listed in a database scrutinized by the FBI unit that does background checks. Staffers can delay a gun buy for three days if the purchaser's name appears and contact the FBI's counterterrorism unit. In Hasan's case, the system apparently broke down.
"The left hand didn't know what the right hand was doing," Schumer said.
Sen. Schumer Calls For Tighter Controls on Gun Buys
Senator Charles Schumer held a press conference on Sunday to call on the Department of Justice to require immediate notification of the Joint Terrorism Task Force when a suspect of a terrorist inquiry attempts to purchase a gun.
Currently, the FBI Counterterrorism Division is notified of background checks when a gun purchaser is listed on the Terrorist Screening Database, but the watch list is not inclusive enough. Senator Schumer says there are many more people who should be on that list who presently are not.
Senator Schumer has written a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder concerning the gun purchase process, in light of the shooting.
“It is my understanding that when an individual is buying a handgun, National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) staff checks with the Terrorist Screening Center for hits in the Terrorist Screening Database,” he wrote. “In the case of valid hits—where the purchaser in question is the subject of a preliminary or full terrorism investigation—NICS staff can delay the gun transaction for up to three business days and contact the FBI Counterterrorism Division to determine whether those agents have prohibiting information about the individual that is not yet contained in the automated databases.”
Senator Schumer said that denying the suspect his gun purchase would require legislation, but requiring the FBI to notify the JTTF does not and should be done. Senator Lautenberg has proposed such legislation, but it was blocked by gun lobbyists.
Obviously, Chuck practices the Rahm Doctrine: "Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste" ...
Sen. Schumer: Let's stop loopholes that allowed Fort Hood killer Nidal Hasan to arm himself
Senator Chuck Schumer called on the U.S. Justice Department to break down "bureaucratic fire walls" that allowed accused killer Maj. Nidal Hasan to arm himself for his Fort Hood rampage."
A giant red flag should have been waved when Maj. Hasan tried to buy a gun," Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters Sunday.
Hasan - the subject of a Joint Terrorism Task Force probe into his contacts with a radical imam with suspected Al Qaeda ties - passed a background check when he made his purchase at Guns Galore in Killeen, Tex.
"The Fort Hood shooter didn't just slip through the cracks," Schumer said. "He walked right through a gaping hole in the federal system to keep guns out of the hands of potential terrorists."
Had task force members been alerted, they might have stepped up their scrutiny of Hasan and possibly averted the massacre that left 13 people dead, Schumer said.
Subjects of terror investigations are listed in a database scrutinized by the FBI unit that does background checks. Staffers can delay a gun buy for three days if the purchaser's name appears and contact the FBI's counterterrorism unit. In Hasan's case, the system apparently broke down.
"The left hand didn't know what the right hand was doing," Schumer said.
Sen. Schumer Calls For Tighter Controls on Gun Buys
Senator Charles Schumer held a press conference on Sunday to call on the Department of Justice to require immediate notification of the Joint Terrorism Task Force when a suspect of a terrorist inquiry attempts to purchase a gun.
Currently, the FBI Counterterrorism Division is notified of background checks when a gun purchaser is listed on the Terrorist Screening Database, but the watch list is not inclusive enough. Senator Schumer says there are many more people who should be on that list who presently are not.
Senator Schumer has written a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder concerning the gun purchase process, in light of the shooting.
“It is my understanding that when an individual is buying a handgun, National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) staff checks with the Terrorist Screening Center for hits in the Terrorist Screening Database,” he wrote. “In the case of valid hits—where the purchaser in question is the subject of a preliminary or full terrorism investigation—NICS staff can delay the gun transaction for up to three business days and contact the FBI Counterterrorism Division to determine whether those agents have prohibiting information about the individual that is not yet contained in the automated databases.”
Senator Schumer said that denying the suspect his gun purchase would require legislation, but requiring the FBI to notify the JTTF does not and should be done. Senator Lautenberg has proposed such legislation, but it was blocked by gun lobbyists.
