SA 4858 : Collins No Fly, No Buy Amendment

Position: Support Status: SA 4858 proposed by Senator McConnell for Senator Collins. Type of Action: Floor Consideration

To authorize the Attorney General to deny the transfer of firearms and explosives and Federal firearms and explosives licenses and permits to known or suspected terrorists.

Update

June 27, 2016

Latest Action: 06/23/2016 Amendment SA 4858 proposed by Senator McConnell for Senator Collins. The amendment was defeated when a motion to table passed.

The Collins Amendment would give the Attorney General the discretion to deny those on the “No Fly” List or the “Selectee” List the ability to purchase firearms.

The amendment provides for an appeals process in the U.S. Court of Appeals for all green card holders and U.S. citizens who are denied the sale of a firearm, which protects individual due process rights. It also allows for the recovery of reasonable attorney’s fees should the appellant prevail.

SA 4858 enumerates a procedure for protecting classified information during the appeals process.

Additionally, the amendment includes a “look-back” provision that immediately notifies the FBI if a person who has been on the Terrorism Screening Database (TSDB) in the past five years purchases a firearm. The TSDB is a broad collaborative screening mechanism comprised of narrower watch lists maintained by various government entities. The “No Fly” and “Selectee” lists are subsets of the TSDB, and identify those who are prohibited from boarding an airplane and those who require more screening, respectively.

In summation, this bill would prevent those the government considers too dangerous to board an airplane from buying firearms, without robbing them of their constitutional right to due process.