Highlights:
- 35% of the people on the watch list based on out of date info or something unrelated to terrorism.
- Miranda warnings are counter productive.
- I can't imagine the supreme court saying that the homeland is not part of the battlefield.
Full Notes (Kind of messy, tried to make them into paragraphs, I don't mark who says what, but it was all said.):
Our nation remains a target for terrorists. Whether sent from overseas or radicalized in the US. We cannot let down our guard. We must meet this threat with strength and resilience. Our nation must come to terms with the threat of homegrown terrorism. An alert citizenry is the best defenses against terrorist attacks. Signs in the NY subway say, "if you see something say something."
35% of the people on watchlist based on out of date info or something unrelated to terrorism. These errors are unfortunate, but only ever result in the restriction of <a privilege.> Like <the right> to board a plane or travel to the US from overseas.
I don't want to infringe on anyone's constitutional rights, but- I don't want to say it, sometimes we need to air on the side of caution.
Nothing in the law keeps fanatics and terrorists on the terror watch list from purchasing weapons. (The same list that is at least 35% inaccurate.) 1200 attempts by terrorists to buy firearms, and 91% of them got them. (1000 terrorists, o rly?) This law would simply allow the attorney general to review and deny weapons and explosives to known and suspected terrorists.
It's common sense. They are coming at us from overseas and more recently at home. We have succeeded at keeping them out of the US. Now what they are trying to do is find people in the US legally. Where they recruit Americans under the radar screen without known ties to al queda. We must expect more attacks from those inside the country.
There will be blood on our hands if we don't pass this common sense law. No one wants to have people put wrongly on a list, but there will be slaughter if we don't. Real and present danger, maybe if it was 2000 we would think this was a tom clancy novel. How many more people need to die before Americans realize this problem is real? The bottom line is to protect us citizens from domestic terrorists with guns.
The US people have lost confidence in their government in so many ways. Imagine if people are slaughtered and it comes out that we knew these people were terrorists and we gave them guns. How much would that hurt the already weakened confidence in the US government?
(500 Mayors are pushing for this legislation. Not citizens, 500 mayors, spearheaded by Bloomberg.)
We can't afford another Ft. Hood. We must close terror gap. 82% of NRA members support closing the terrorist gap. The founding fathers didn't write the 2nd amendment to allow people to terrorize a free state, but defend it.
Law enforcement in this country think the standard is set by NYPD and you've just raised that banner higher.
Failure to close the terror gap will put us more at risk.
We've trained 250 additional officers in the use of heavy weapons, so that they will be able to supplement the work of emergency service officers in a crisis.
I was pleased to understand that some of the databases within the homeland security were very helpful to you.
We're an open country. We simply can't stop every attack. That's where the citizenry become 300 million more security providers.
Talk a little bit about what the purchase of a gun might say in the activities of a suspected terrorist, would you say that is an indication that they are about to go operational?
- Certainly.
The idea that America has gaps in her defenses is a really timely matter. Borders, overstaying visas, we are 10 years out and haven't learned all the lessons we should have learned.
There is no one more professional than NYC besides the American military. The DC gun ban law was an experiment that didn't work and the supreme court said it went to far.
1200 something people attempted to purchase weapons that were on the watch list, how many are being tried with terrorist activities?
- I don't know. (Diverts conversation to immigration.)
I don't know if any of the 1200 are facing charges, but I do know if society decides that these people are too dangerous to get on an airplane with other people than it is probably appropriate to look at them before they buy a gun.
I understand that, but we are talking about a constitutional right here. If every one of these people are fanatics and radicalized, but none of these people are facing terrorists charges...
400,000 people on the terrorist watch list, how many are Americans? Aren't we talking about a very small percentage of people here?
I want to make our social security cards biometric. I'm all for national security. I don't think it's smart for us to say that the homeland is not part of the battlefield.
On a battlefield you don't read people their Miranda rights. Why should it be when they come to the US they get a better deal.
Even as an American citizen helping the enemy you should be viewed as a military threat. Not some guy that tried to commit a crime in time square.
We must devise a law that recognizes that we are at war. Giving us the opportunity to hold this person even if they are a US citizens to gather intelligence.
Miranda warnings are counter productive.
The watchlist, if you look at the numbers, has problems and it would be inappropriate to go down this road with a constitutional right involved, thats my only concern.
The watchlist is
accessed 1 billion times a year and its error rate is as low as any other list. If the list is a problem let us fix the list, but our law is reasonable.
My reading of supreme court rulings is that you can count an American citizen as an enemy combatant. I can't imagine the supreme court not saying that the homeland is not part of the battlefield. The charge of treason should always be on the table.
Lieberman: troubled by the concerns raised by senator.
If someone is on a terrorist watch list we ought to give them a second look.
There is a big difference between losing your 2nd amendment right because you have been charged and tried with a crime and losing your ability to own a gun from a list that is at least suspect. We must be very careful.
