Ex-CIA chief to Senate: Close the terror loophole



By Tim Devaney - 06/23/16 04:47 PM EDT

Retired Gen. David Petraeus is backing the compromise gun control bill orchestrated by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) which would prevent suspected terrorists from buying firearms.

In a Thursday letter, the former CIA director and other retired high-ranking military officials criticized senators for “not doing everything” they can do to stop gun violence.

“Had this bill been law, the FBI might have been able to detect and stop the Orlando killer,” wrote Petraeus, who spent years fighting terrorism. The June 12 Orlando shooting that killed 49 people and wounded dozens more has led to a flurry of activity on Capitol Hill surrounding gun control, including a 15-hour talkathon in the Senate and a sit-in on the House floor, both led by Democrats.

The bipartisan measure from Collins comes after the Senate last week failed to pass Republican and Democratic bills aimed at closing the so-called terror loophole.

Collins’s bill, which passed a crucial test vote Thursday afternoon, would empower the attorney general to block suspected terrorists who are on the no-fly list from legally purchasing guns.

The legislation would also include a provision for people who have not been convicted of terrorism and claim they wrongly appear on the list to appeal the decision.

Senate Republican leadership held a vote Thursday to kill the bipartisan measure, which failed 46-52.

The gun control bill is opposed not only by the National Rifle Association, but also by the American Civil Liberties Union, which typically leans left.

But Petraeus said Collins’s bill would help stem the tide of gun violence around the country.

He was joined by various other retired high-ranking military officials, including Gen. Michael Hayden and Admiral Thad Allen, in urging the Senate to support the legislation.

"In the face of such a threat, we are not doing everything we can to prevent future incidences of active shooter terrorism in America,” they wrote. "In fact, to this day there persists in our laws a dangerous hole that allows suspected terrorists to legally buy firearms."

"This loophole, termed the ‘terror gap,’ is a vulnerability that Congress can easily address,” they added.

http://thehill.com/regulation/284692...error-loophole