Guns & terrorismNYPD commissioner to Congress: Do not allow people on terror watch list to buy guns

Published 25 November 2015

NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton the other day called on Congress today to “start getting serious” about fixing the loophole which allows individuals on the U.S. terror watch list legally to purchase firearms in the United States. Bratton said: “If Congress really wants to do something instead of just talking about something, help us out with that terrorist watch list, those thousands of people that can purchase firearms in this country. I’m more worried about them than I am about Syrian refugees.”

NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton the other day called on Congress today to “start getting serious” about fixing the loophole which allows individuals on the U.S. terror watch list legally to purchase firearms in the United States.

Bratton, appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press” with DHS secretary Jeh Johnson, said, “If Congress really wants to do something instead of just talking about something, help us out with that terrorist watch list, those thousands of people that can purchase firearms in this country. I’m more worried about them than I am about Syrian refugees.”

He added, “If Congress really wants to do something to help the American law enforcement community and the American public, well let’s start getting serious about doing something that they can actually do something about.”

Johnson addressed another security concern, saying that “there are ways Congress can help us” on the Visa Waiver Program, which security experts – and lawmakers, including Richard Burr (R-North Carolina), chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee – regard as a much more significant threat to U.S. security than Syrian refugees.

NBC News reports that when Johnson was asked whether the United States should temporarily suspend the Visa Waiver Program, he replied, “No, I would not do that at all. The Visa Waiver Program is very, very important to lawful trade, travel, commerce … But there are security enhancements that we have made, and we should evaluate whether more is necessary, and I’m happy to have that conversation with our friends in Congress. They’re interested in this too.”