Monday, January 18, 2010

Sleep Easy, America - Feds' Terrorist Watchlist Nabs Cub Scout

Friday, January 15, 2010


As we’ve reported before, Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), encouraged by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, wants to prohibit anyone on the FBI’s terrorist watchlist from possessing a firearm. Yet, the list and its criteria are secret, and Lautenberg’s bill would criminalize the exercise of a constitutionally protected right while denying a person the opportunity to clear himself of accusations in a fair and open hearing before a court of law. Even today, thousands of people who aren’t terrorists cannot prevent the list from misidentifying them, causing them delays and embarrassment when trying to board commercial aircraft.

It’s one thing when an adult gets the run-around at an airport, because he or she has a name identical or similar to someone the FBI is watching. As the American Civil Liberties Union has pointed out, the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) “automatic selectee” list -- its list of people who are not permitted to board an aircraft without being given the once-over by the agency’s machines and uniformed, latex-gloved personnel -- is based on people’s names, not on physical factors like age.

But when the system is so unorganized that it cannot distinguish a kid from a terrorist, what’s going on here? Yesterday, the New York Times reported that for the last six or seven years, one of Lautenberg’s constituents -- eight-year-old New Jersey Cub Scout Michael “Mikey” Hicks -- hasn’t been able to get on a plane without being patted down like your average neighborhood hubcap thief with his palms on the hood of a police cruiser and a nightstick between his legs. Repeatedly mistaken for someone on the FBI’s terrorist watchlist since he was two years old, Mikey’s encounters with the federal government have consisted of, as his mother puts it, “Up your arms, down your arms, up your crotch, someone is patting your 8-year-old down like he’s a criminal.”

To say that the situation is ironic is a gross understatement. The government can’t or won’t get Mikey’s situation straightened out. And he isn’t alone. The Times says that of nearly 82,000 travelers who have applied through the Department of Homeland Security to get their names cleared from the watchlist during the last three years, 25,000 are still waiting.

Yet, the government failed to add to the TSA’s “no-fly list” the self-proclaimed al Qaeda-trained Nigerian Islamist fanatic who allegedly smuggled military high explosives aboard a plane bound for Detroit on Christmas Day last year and almost blew the plane to kingdom come. As the White House report on the incident concluded, there was enough information to have placed him on the “no-fly list;” he was already in the government’s international terrorist identities database (the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment, or TIDE). But, the government failed to recognize that he had a U.S. travel visa (which it could have revoked) because it had misspelled his name.

TSA can spell “Mikey,” however. Despite efforts by the boy’s parents and their congressman to get TSA to straighten out the error, the delays and pat-downs continue. Meanwhile, other non-terrorists tired of their airport delays have been able to get off TSA’s radar screen by changing their names or deliberately misspelling their names when purchasing a ticket.

Irrespective of how this relates to Second Amendment issues, we think -- and more and more people are likely to agree -- that while our fellow Americans in federal service have prevented virtually all terrorist attacks in the U.S. since the September 11 attacks, numerous problems with the watchlist apparatus remain and it is long past the time that these problems should have been corrected.

Mikey’s case, however, serves to remind us of the potential ramifications for the Second Amendment, if the watchlist is used by the likes of Lautenberg and Bloomberg to their nefarious ends.



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Sunday, January 10, 2010

What Gun Owners Should Anticipate With a Democrat Administration

By Libby Thornton

Right after the presidential elections, rumors of changes in leadership styles and policies have spawn across the country. The change that is anticipated to happen is a double-edged sword that will affect the country positively and negatively. Because of the partisan differences, the transition of the government from the conservative republican to the more lax but pro-life democrats is expected. Obama's speeches during the campaign somehow gives insight that he will be crusading for gun-less America and will do all possible moves to refrain from engaging to wars. In a wide view and in the effect of the war on Afghanistan and Iraq, the sentiments of Obama are but an acceptable notion. However, there are some small things here that should not slip out of Obama's eyes as this might cause a grim situation. Gun-less America is not an answer to peaceful America, rather it is synonymous to defenseless Americans.

Criminal rates across the country heightened as crisis has not yet been leveled and that unemployment rate rose worst than those 30 years ago. Violence is expected to even increase as this crisis continues to be in effect and that its rehabilitation is way projected for about 5 years. Aside from the crisis, the country is already suffering from lawlessness because of some factors affecting security policies and other legislations. This malady is rather sad but can even become sadder if no immediate intervention can be done with it.

Businessmen in America are usually armed with guns for defense and order in their premises. Small businesses in addition depend on their guns to foster and advance safety of the business without having to pay for a security. Too unfortunate as projected, the next president is pro on passing stricter laws on gun ownership and dealership. The reason behind this is the simple notion that the lesser the guns being issued, the lower the crime that may happen. However, criminals do not always use licensed and issued guns, most of the time; guns used in crimes are smuggled. This is what contradicts the stated notion.

According to a legislation passed in Florida, a new gun regulation is to be implemented with greater emphasis on gun ownership and dealership and focused mainly on the conduct of background checking of all applicants for gun ownership and renewing gun owners. The concern also affects gun dealers in the state including those selling at show rooms, etc. Background check of gun owners and applicants has been done for quite sometime already. But according to Florida legislators, there are flaws in the law that they needed to revise it and make it stricter.

There are resistances however from some factions that say the revising of the existing law and the implementation may contradict the Constitution under Human Rights clause. But it was clarified that said law is not necessarily intended for enforcement but for dealership only. The law suggests that gun owners be mentally checked to make sure that the intention for the ownership of the gun is not for a possible retaliation. A criminal background check will refrain from providing unlawful person to own deadly weapons publicly.

With this present issue on gun ownership, it is truly easy to say that the penny has really two faces. Though it may sound safer to have guns for defense, it cannot be assured when there is an existing law that prohibits one, in superficial sense, to own a gun. Well, it might not be that the law prohibits, but because of the strict clauses in there makes it look something not regulating but prohibiting.

Libby Thornton is 41 years old, working as a marketing executive in a leading authority on the web when it comes to criminal background check with the largest background check database consisting of over 245 million criminal records is provided.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Libby_Thornton