‘Terrorist-friendly’ system takes center stage after Orlando massacre

A system that KIRO Radio’s Dave Ross has called “terrorist friendly” is challenging lawmakers as advocates play an emotional game of tug-of-war over gun control.

Since 49 people were killed at a gay nightclub in Orlando, the debate over whether people on the no-fly list should be banned from purchasing guns has raged on. The problem, as CBS News’ John Dickerson points out, is maintaining innocent people’s Second Amendment rights.

“The challenge with the no-fly list, or any terrorist watch list, is how do you protect somebody who is innocent who gets on that list?” he said during Seattle’s Morning News. “What is that process to get off that list?”

Related: Guns are blameless in our ‘terrorist-friendly’ system

Second Amendment supporters worry the list will — or is — out of control, he points out. People opposing the idea argue that the process can be “sloppy.”

And it’s not just Second Amendment supporters that worry about the list controlling things. The American Civil Liberties Union has its own concerns, Dickerson says.

“So, until the list itself is fixed and a person can get off it if they are wrongly placed there … it shouldn’t be used as a law-enforcement mechanism,” he explained.

Additionally, the FBI worries that adding the watch list to the process of firearm background checks could compromise the agency’s investigations.

Earlier in the week, Dave Ross argued that gun dealers should be informed of people who are being watched because of potential terrorist activity. He pointed out that even the president has no power over whether someone on the no-fly list can purchase a gun.

“Suppose the FBI, when it learns of an ISIS sympathizer, instead of informing the President – who can’t do anything – at least inform the gun dealers in the area,” Dave said. “Then they can decide whether an ISIS sympathizer ought to have a weapon that can mow down 100 people just like that.”

Meanwhile, Vice President Joe Biden is calling for the ban of civilian ownership of assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines following the shooting in Orlando.

Biden is responding to an online White House petition calling for AR-15 rifles to be banned. The petition was created hours after the shooting and merited an official White House response because it exceeded the required threshold of 100,000 signatures. As of Friday, the petition has more than 185,000 signatures.

Photos: President Obama pays his respects to victims of Orlando shooting

Biden says Congress should renew the expired assault weapons ban. He also says Congress should vote to expand background checks and prohibit people on terrorist watch lists from buying guns. Votes in the Senate on those measures are expected Monday.

The gunman in Orlando used a Sig Sauer MCX, an assault rifle similar to the AR-15.

Arguments over the no-fly list debate will be heard on Sunday on CBS’ Face the Nation, where Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, and National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre will all share their views over who should and shouldn’t be able to purchase a weapon.

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