National Security
June 14, 2016 8:24 PM
Terrorist watchlist no obstacle to buying weapons, data show
Approval rate above 90 percent for suspected terrorists who try to buy guns
Statistics assembled by Government Accountability Office
Dianne Feinstein of California released data as she pushes new legislation
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Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., on Tuesday released statistics showing that people listed on the FBI’s terrorist watch list have been approved to purchase firearms more than 90 percent of the time since 2004. Feinstein is pushing legislation to bar person’s listed on watch lists from buying weapons. Pablo Martinez Monsivais AP
By Maggie Ybarra
mybarra@mcclatchydc.com
WASHINGTON
More than 90 percent of known or suspected terrorists who’ve attempted to buy weapons since 2004 have passed a background check and been approved for the purchase, new government statistics show.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calf., a proponent of tougher gun-buying restrictions on suspected terrorists, released the statistics late Tuesday as the country is struggling to understand how Omar Mateen, 29, who killed 49 people Sunday at a gay nightclub in Orlando, was able to buy weapons – even though he was on the FBI’s terrorist watch list and had been investigated twice by FBI agents for possible terrorism links.
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