'A moment of sanity': L.A. Times says people on no-fly list should be able to buy guns

Sarah D. | 2:11 PM on December 08, 2015

Whoa. When you’ve lost the L.A. Times …

LA Times editorial defends due process, admonishes Democrats on 'no-fly/gun ban' posturing:https://t.co/ezVhKbqa6c

— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) December 8, 2015

Who’d’a thunk it? But here we are:

One problem is that the people on the no-fly list (as well as the broader terror watch list from which it is drawn) have not been convicted of doing anything wrong. They are merely suspected of having terror connections. And the United States doesn’t generally punish or penalize people unless and until they have been charged and convicted of a crime. In this case, the government would be infringing on a right guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution — and yes, like it or not, the right to buy a gun is a constitutional right according to the U.S. Supreme Court.

…

It is worth noting that the terrorist-list proposal would not have affected the San Bernardino attackers because neither of them was on the watch list, at least as far as has been reported. And although backers of the measure cite Government Accountability Office data that show more than 2,000 people on the list bought firearms from 2004 to 2014, there’s no available information on whether any of those weapons have been used in a crime, let alone an act of terrorism.

Ending gun violence is critically important, but so is protecting basic civil liberties. Although we agree to the ends here, we object to the means.

Well, dang.

Of course even this relatively well researched editorial they still managed to incorrectly use the term "assault rifles"

— Stephen Gutowski (@StephenGutowski) December 8, 2015