Individuals on TSA's No-fly List Have Legally Purchased Firearms in the US

Earlier this week, the US General Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on the use of terrorist watch lists to screen firearms purchases with some truly stunning facts about gun purchases by potential terrorists. In short, persons one of the key US government terrorist watch lists can legally buy firearms in the US. Surprisingly, membership in a terrorist organization or in a suspected terrorist organization does not prohibit a person from legally buying or possessing firearms or explosives under current US federal law, and at least a few individuals on the TSA's no-fly list have been allowed to purchase firearms in the US after passing a required FBI background check. To put this surprising reality in a broader context, we'll first provide a very brief overview how firearm purchases are approved in the US.

Who can buy firearms in the US
Laws vary widely across the US, but in general, it is possible for an adult to legally purchase guns either from a dealer who has a federal license to sell firearms, or through a sale between private individuals. Anyone making a transaction through a licensed dealer is subject to an FBI background check.

Background checks and firearms dealers
If someone wants to purchase a firearm from a federally licensed firearms dealer, that person must pass a background check. The database used for this background check is the the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). If the NICS database indicates if a potential buyer is in one or more of the categories that would disqualify that person from purchasing a firearm from a licensed dealer. Those categories include being convicted of a crime or being under indictment for a crime punishable by more than one year in prison, being in the US illegally, or having been adjudicated as a mental defective or committed to a mental institution (see 18 USC §922 for details).

Terrorist databases and the NICS database
The NICS database includes information from the FBI's Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB), which has about 400,000 names, and is the database used to create the TSA's no-fly list. The TSDB includes both US and non-US citizens.

Terrorist watch lists and gun purchases
According to the GAO report (GAO-10-703T), between February 2004 and Februray 2010, there were 1,228 occasions where individuals in the FBI's Terrorist Screening Database were involved in firearms or explosives background checks. Of those attempted purchases, 1,119 (about 91%) were allowed to proceed. These transactions involved about 650 individuals, with about 450 of them involved in multiple transactions, and six involved with 10 or more transactions.

Can terrorists buy guns in the US?
The simple answer is that when it comes to gun purchases through a licensed firearms dealer, merely being a terrorist, or more precisely, being a person who is listed in the FBI's Terrorist Screening Database, does not disqualify a person from purchasing firearms.

Has anyone on the no-fly list purchased a firearm in the US?
Incredibly, the answer is yes. The GAO report stated that several transactions that occurred between March 2010 and February 2009 involved an unspecified number of individuals who were also on the TSA's no-fly list, and in every case the transaction was allowed to proceed. The report did not mention if there were any similar transactions during the rest of the time period covered by the report.

What do you think about firearms purchase restrictions for terrorists
At present, being on a terrorist watch list, or even being on the no-fly list, will not prevent someone from passing required background checks for firearms purchases. Here at AirSafeNews.com, we would like to know what you think about this situation, and also what you think should be done to limit either the purchase or possession of firearms by anyone who is on the TSA's no fly list, the FBI's Terrorist Screening Database, or on any of the other key airline security and terrorist databases. Feel free to leave comments below:

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Photo credit: TSA

Suspected Bomber on No-fly List But Still Got on a Plane

As many of you know, Faisal Shahzad, a 30-year-old father of two from Connecticut, has been accused of attempting to set off a bomb in the Times Square area of New York City last Saturday. Two days later, he attempted to leave the US by flying out from JFK Airport on Emirates flight 202, bound for Dubai. The door on the aircraft was closed, and the plane was about to begin its pushback from the jetway when the authorities ordered the plane to return to the gate when Shahzad was taken into custody.

After Shahzad was removed from the aircraft, the aircraft resumed its departure, but as a precaution the crew was ordered to return to the gate so the passengers could be screened by security one more time. This exchange between the crew and ATC was made available by LiveATC.net.

The good news was that law enforcement and aviation security personnel were able to work together and detain this suspect. In fact, the the investigation into the attempted bombing had evolved very rapidly, with Shahzad being added to the TSA's no-fly list before he attempted to leave the country.

Lapses in airport security
On the surface, the elements were in place to capture this suspect if he tried to get on an airplane. However, that was clearly not the case. At about 12:30 p.m. Monday, seven hours before his flight, Shahzad's name was added to the no-fly list. Emirates Airlines was also notified about an important addition to the no-fly list. However, the airline was only required to check for updates to the list every 24 hours.

He was able to get past the initial TSA security checkpoint and get on an aircraft in spite of being on the 'no-fly' list. Shahzad was caught only after Customs and Border Protection agents reviewed the final passenger list shortly before takeoff.

Although Shahzad was caught before the plane took off, this represents a failure because the intent was for the no-fly list and the rest of the security system to prevent someone like Shahzad from even boarding an aircraft. Perhaps New York mayor Michael Bloomberg has a perspective that is shared by many who hear this story. According to the New York Times, he said, “Clearly the guy was on the plane and shouldn’t have been. We got lucky.”

Two things that can be said about luck is that it is not predictable and is not a substitute for a systematic security process. The US government maintains a number of databases that are used as part of a systematic security process for airline travel. An AirSafeNews.com article from last November described the four most important airline security databases in the US. The most restrictive is the "no-fly" list. As the name implies, this is a list of people who are not allowed to board an airliner.

The problem
The key problem in this situation is that part of the system worked in that a suspect's name was placed on the no-fly list, and accessible to law enforcement, TSA, and the airline. However, having an updated list is next to useless if the groups that are supposed to use the list are not using the list, especially to find a high interest suspect such as Mr. Shahzad.

How to improve the system
The TSA announced today that airlines will now have to review the no-fly list within two hours rather than within 24 hours. However, that may not be enough. AirSafeNews.com would like to know what you think. Please feel free to respond to the survey below. We'll publish the results, and your comments, in a few days.