No-Fly No Buy: What is the proposed gun control bill? Will the Orlando shootings lead to it being passed?

Democrats, Donald Trump and the NRA publicly support the legislation

AR-15 rifle in Miami, Florida ( Joe Raedle/Getty)

What is “No Fly, No Buy?”
The FBI’s Terror Screening Center complies a secret database of people suspected of having involvement with terrorist activities. There are two separate lists: the terrorist watch list of more than 400,000 names and the no-fly list, which prevents more than 16,000 people from boarding planes in the states.

Peter King, a Republican from New York, and Dianne Feinstein, a Democratic senator from California, introduced the Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act last year but the measure was struck down by House Republicans with a 45-54 vote. An amended version of the bill would have only delayed each purchase for 72 hours pending an investigation.

The proposed legislation, which Senate Democrats are currently filibustering for gun control, would give the attorney general authority to deny people on terror watch lists from legally purchasing firearms and explosives.

What are the current laws?
There’s no law currently in place that bans the sale of firearms or explosives to people on terror watch lists or no fly lists. FBI officials are notified when gun shops conduct background checks on people on watch lists but they cannot intervene.

Between 2013 and 2014, individuals on watch lists legally purchased firearms with a 94 percent success rate. Those denied had previous convictions for substance abuse, domestic violence or suffered adjudicated mental health.

Why was it blocked after San Bernardino?
The Republican controlled Congress argued in 2015 that the no fly list and terror watch lists are only follow suspicious persons who have not been accused or convicted of any crimes.

Igor Volsky, a contributing editor at Think Progress, found that the National Rifle Association spent $19.7 million on candidates who publicly offered their prayers to the shooting victims with no mention of gun reform.

What are the chances of it being passed?

Little to none.

Following the worst mass shooting in US history, House Democrats and the presumptive Republican nominee announced renewed support for the failed legislation, the NRA responded by promising that they surely support the legislation, despite their ongoing contributions to Congress that would suggest otherwise.

“The NRA believes that terrorists should not be allowed to purchase or possess firearms, period. Anyone on a terror watch list who tries to buy a gun should be thoroughly investigated by the FBI and the sale delayed while the investigation is ongoing,” NRA legal director Chris Cox said in a statement.

“If an investigation uncovers evidence of terrorist activity or involvement, the government should be allowed to immediately go to court, block the sale, and arrest the terrorist. At the same time, due process protections should be put in place that allow law-abiding Americans who are wrongly put on a watch list to be removed.”