NEW YORK — In response to the statement from GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump that he is meeting with the National Rifle Association to discuss closing the Terror Gap, Everytown for Gun Safety released the following statement from President John Feinblatt:
“We should all be working together to close the ‘Terror Gap’ – the loophole that has allowed terror suspects to buy guns more than 2,000 times since 2004. If we had closed it already, we might have prevented the Orlando shooter from getting guns.
“There have been real “Terror Gap” proposals on the table for nearly a decade. Both the Bush and Obama Administrations have endorsed them. And yet the NRA’s leaders have fought them tooth and nail, and their allies in Congress have repeatedly voted against them.
“So, whatever comes of the talks between Donald Trump and the NRA, we expect to see a meaningful proposal, not another red herring. Senator Cornyn has proposed NRA-backed legislation with the right name but which, in reality, would make it nearly impossible to stop terror suspects from buying guns. The Cornyn bill has an absurdly high standard that applies only to people who are proven to be about to commit a terrorist act. At that point, we shouldn’t be debating about terrorists’ gun rights – just about the quickest way to incapacitate them.
“The gun lobby is welcome at the table. But enough with the political games. They can either get serious about strengthening our gun laws, or continue to sit on their hands in the face of a grave national security threat and the slaughter of innocent Americans.”
A fact sheet on the Terror Gap is available here and an op-ed on the Cornyn bill is available here.
