WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama and his Democrat colleagues are pushing for the international "no fly" list to be used when considering whether citizens should be allow to own firearms. President Obama called such a policy "Common sense" after the San Bernardino massacre in early December.
On the other hand, more and more are saying such a filter would be undermining the constitutional right to bear arms. And others argue that the "no fly" list has no provision of due process to appeal being included on the list.
The matter came up in D.C. this week during a U.S. House hearing, in which the following discussion took place between Rep. Blake Farenthold of Texas and a Homeland Security official:
REP. BLAKE FARENTHOLD: “Alright, I guess my concern with this is there has been a lot of talk recently about using these watch lists for purposes other than they were intended. For instance, in determining whether or not Americans are able to exercise their rights under the second amendment. Do you think it is appropriate that these lists be used outside of what they were designed for?”
ASSISTANT HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS ALAN BERSIN: “I have not heard that and I don't believe that it would be — and I believe it would be apples and oranges.”
REP. FARENTHOLD: “All right. Thank you very much.”
