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

New Rules for Airline Security and for Pilot use of Antidepressant Drugs

New TSA security measures for international flightsAfter the failed bombing attempt last Christmas, the TSA and the US government implemented enhanced security procedures that included extra screening for all passengers coming to the US from 14 countries associated with a high risk of threats to aircraft. The new policy will use intelligence information to give any passengers who fit the description of a suspect additional screening.

In the words of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napalitano, “These new measures utilize real-time, threat-based intelligence along with multiple, random layers of security, both seen and unseen, to more effectively mitigate evolving terrorist threats,” In plain English, she says that the threat is changing, and how the US government will deal with that threat is changing as well.

How this will affect the average passenger is not clear. There is no indication that these changes will replace or enhance the current system of databases of suspected terrorists, which includes databases of people not allowed to fly at all and others who are required to go through addtional screening each time they fly.

New FAA Policy on Antidepressants for Pilots
On the same day that most news organizations were focusing on TSA security changes, the FAA announces a far different policy change. In short, starting Monday April 5th, the FAA will change its policy policy on the use of antidepressant drugs by airline pilots. Specifically, pilots who are taking medication for mild to moderate depression, conditions that now bar them from all flying duties, will now be allowed to fly.

On a case-by-case basis the FAA will allow pilots who take one of four antidepressant medications – Fluoxetine (Prozac), Sertraline (Zoloft), Citalopram (Celexa), or Escitalopram (Lexapro) - to fly if they have been satisfactorily treated on the medication for at least 12 months. The FAA will not take civil enforcement action against pilots who take advantage of a six-month opportunity to share any previously non-disclosed diagnosis of depression or the use of these antidepressants.

According to FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt, the intent of this policy change is to encourage pilots who are suffering from depression or using antidepressants to report their medical condition to the FAA. He also wants to remove the stigma associated with depression so that pilots are able to get the medical treatment they need so they can safely perform their duties.

This is a policy change and not a proposed rule change. While the FAA encourages the public to leave comments during a comment period ending next month, those comments may have little or no effect on the upcoming policy change.

Send your comments to the FAA
If you feel strongly about this policy, AirSafeNews.com encourages you to provide comments here or to send formal comments to the FAA. Whether you think it is a good policy or a bad one, please feel free to share your thoughts and opinions.

Comments
If you want to leave comments with either AirSafeNews.com or the FAA, we encourage you to first read the policy, which is identified by the US government with Docket Number FAA-2009-0773. You may also want to review the associated enforcement policy, which gives pilots until September 10th of this year to reveal their previous treatment or drug use related to antidepressants. Note that a pilot properly using these medications may not show any signs of drug use, and the medications will likely have no significant effect on pilot performance.

From Monday April 5th until May 3rd, the FAA is allowing the public to comment on the policy. If you are interested in leaving comments with the FAA, please do so using one of the following methods to leave your comments:

• Online: Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov and follow the online
  instructions. If you enter the docket number FAA-2009-0773 into the search box marked 'Enter Keyword or ID' and follow the directions. Please note that this option may not work before the official comment period begins on Monday.
  
  
• Mail: Send comments to:
  Docket Operations, M-30
  U.S. Department of Transportation
  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Room W12-140
  West Building Ground Floor,
  Washington, DC 20590-0001
  
  
• Hand Delivery or Courier: Take comments to Docket Operations in Room W12-140 of the West Building Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
  
  
• Fax: Fax comments to Docket Operations at 202-493-2251

If you want to leave comments with AirSafeNews.com about either the new TSA security rules or about the new FAA drug policy, please do so using either the form below or through the normal blog comment process:


Photos: TSA, Amanda M. Hatfield

What Are the Key Airline Security and Terrorists Databases?

With the recent arrest of a suspect in the failed bombing of Northwest flight 253, one of the questions asked was why was this person allowed to get on an airplane if his name was in one of the US databases of suspected terrorists? The short story is that the suspect would have been barred from boarding if he were on a very specific list called the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA's) No-fly list. He would have been subject to extra scrutiny, but not necessarily barred from boarding, if he were on the TSA's Selectee list.

The suspect was on a much larger list of people with terrorists ties, but being on that list doesn't lead to increased TSA scrutiny. What follows is a very brief description of these three databases, plus a fourth database, that are relevant to the recent bombing situation.

Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment (TIDE)
This is the US government's central repository of information on international terrorist activities. The database includes people who commit terrorist activities, who plan such activities, or perform supporting activities such as fund raising providing safe houses. The suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, was added to this database last month, and there are about 500,000 unique individuals in the database, of which 95% are non-US citizens. For more details, you can view the fact sheet on this database.

Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB)
only individuals who are known or reasonably suspected to be or have been engaged in conduct constituting, in preparation for, in aid of, or related to terrorism. This database consolidates information that used to be located in several different US government agencies. It is more restrictive than the TIDE database, and contains about 400,000 names. The suspect in the bombing was not one of them. The FBI has a list of frequently asked questions about this database.

Selectee List
Maintained by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), this database contains the names of individuals who must undergo additional security screening before being permitted to board an aircraft. This list, which has about 14,000 people, is a subset of the TSDB.

No-fly List
As the name implies, this is a list of people who are not allowed to board an airliner. Like the Selectee List, this No-fly list is maintained by the TSA and is a subset of the TSDB. This list has fewer than 4,000 names.

So far, the US government has admitted that there was insufficient information available on the suspect to place him in any of the last three lists, including the no-fly list. Also, the suspect's US entry visa, which was granted in 2008 before he was placed on the TIDE list, was not restricted or revoked after being placed on that list.