Individuals On FBI’s Terrorist Watchlist Allowed To Legally Purchase Firearms

According a report on abc news; Individuals on the FBI’s terrorist watchlist are not prevented from legally purchasing firearms, but two lawmakers want to change that. FBI data from last year show that people on the watchlist were cleared to purchase guns 94 percent of the time.

Between 2004 and 2014, the FBI completed 2,233 background checks involving individuals on the watchlist. Only 190 individuals were declined, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The GAO does not have data on how many firearms purchases were completed because dealers are not required to submit that information to the FBI. 

“If the only mark on your record is that you are on the watchlist, you are allowed to purchase a firearm,” said David Maurer, the GAO's director of justice and law enforcement issues.  

Background checks for firearm purchases are done using the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, to instantly determine whether a prospective buyer is eligible to buy firearms or explosives, according to the FBI. The number of background checks done on people on the watchlist are a small fraction of the 100 million total firearm background checks in the last decade.