Congressman Dan Kildee: Terrorist Suspects on No-Fly List Should Not Be Able to Buy Deadly Weapons

Kildee Pushes For Vote on Republican Bill to Better Protect American People from Threat of Terror Suspects Buying Guns in U.S.

Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-05) today pushed the U.S. House of Representatives to take up a bill that would make it more difficult for suspected terrorists to buy weapons in the U.S. Using rarely-invoked legislative rules, including a discharge petition and motions to adjourn, Congressman Kildee is seeking a vote on a bill, supported by Democrats and Republicans, that stops suspected terrorists from buying dangerous weapons. Right now in the U.S., anyone on the FBI’s Terrorist Watch list is not allowed to fly on an airplane but still can buy weapons and explosives.

“For me, this is common sense – if you are deemed too dangerous of a threat to fly, you are too dangerous to own a deadly weapon,” Congressman Kildee said. “With all of the terrorist threats we face, Congress must act to close this loophole that allows terror suspects to go to a gun store and walk away with whatever weapons they want. Congress can act immediately on a bill introduced by my Republican colleague, Peter King, which would close this dangerous loophole and help better protect the American people.”

H.R. 1076, the Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act of 2015, is a bipartisan bill introduced by Republican Rep. Peter King (NY-02) that would prevent anyone currently on the FBI’s terrorist watch list from legally purchasing a weapon.

According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, in the last 11 years, over 2,000 suspects on the FBI’s Watch List have tried to legally buy guns in the U.S. 91 percent of those terror suspects have succeeded in walking away with a deadly weapon. Congressman Kildee spoke about this bill on the House floor today and yesterday. He also offered a motion to adjourn on the House floor, in an attempt to push for a vote on this important bill.

Additionally, Congressman Kildee also signed a discharge petition to try and force an up-or-down vote on Congressman King’s bill. 218 Members of Congress– a majority of the House – need to sign the discharge petition to schedule a vote on the legislation.

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