Judging by his prime-time speech last week, the final year of Barack Obama's
presidency will be marked by increased militarism abroad and authoritarianism
at home. The centerpiece of the president's speech was his demand for a new
law forbidding anyone on the federal government's terrorist watch list from
purchasing a firearm. There has never been a mass shooter who was on the terrorist
watch list, so this proposal will not increase security. However, it will decrease
liberty.
Federal officials can have an American citizen placed on the terrorist watch
list based solely on their suspicions that the individual might be involved
in terrorist activity. Individuals placed on the list are not informed that
they have been labeled as suspected terrorists, much less given an opportunity
to challenge that designation, until a Transportation Security Administration
agent stops them from boarding a plane.
Individuals can be placed on the list if their Facebook or Twitter posts
seem "suspicious" to a federal agent. You can also be placed on the list if
your behavior somehow suggests that you are a "representative" of a terrorist
group (even if you have no associations with any terrorist organizations).
Individuals can even be put on the list because the FBI wants to interview
them about friends or family members!
Thousands of Americans, including several members of Congress and many employees
of the Department of Homeland Security, have been mistakenly placed on the
terrorist watch list. Some Americans are placed on the list because they happen
to have the same names as terrorist suspects. Those mistakenly placed on the
terrorist watch list must go through a lengthy "redress" process to clear their
names.
It is likely that some Americans are on the list solely because of their
political views and activities. Anyone who doubts this should consider the
long history of federal agencies, such as the IRS and the FBI, using their
power to harass political movements that challenge the status quo. Are the
American people really so desperate for the illusion of security that they
will support a law that results in some Americans losing their Second Amendment
rights because of a bureaucratic error or because of their political beliefs?
President Obama is also preparing an executive order expanding the federal
background check system. Expanding background checks will not keep guns out
of the hands of criminals or terrorists. However, it will make obtaining a
firearm more difficult for those needing, for example, to defend themselves
against abusive spouses.
Sadly, many who understand that new gun control laws will leave us less free
and less safe support expanding the surveillance state. Like those promoting
gun control, people calling for expanded surveillance do not let facts deter
their efforts to take more of our liberties. There is no evidence that mass
surveillance has prevented even one terrorist attack.
France's mass surveillance system is much more widespread and intrusive than
ours. Yet it failed to prevent the recent attacks. France's gun control laws,
which are much more restrictive than ours, not only failed to keep guns out
of the hands of their attackers, they left victims defenseless. It is thus
amazing that many American politicians want to make us more like France by
taking away our Second and Fourth Amendment rights.
Expanding government power will not increase our safety; it will only diminish
our freedom. Americans will have neither liberty nor security until they abandon
the fantasy that the US government can provide economic security, personal
security, and global security.
