- Right now @clgoddard is delivering 35K signatures to Congress pre-State of the Union to push for action on #guns http://t.co/C04i0QaY
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- #NowIsTheTime to rally friends & followers to reach our goal of 30,000 emails to Congress in the next few hours: http://t.co/GdNtznlD
- #NowIsTheTime to make Congress hear our demand to reduce #gun violence. Help send 30K emails by midnight http://t.co/GdNtznlD
- Make sure Congress hears our demand for action to reduce #gun violence. Let's send 30,000 emails over the next 48 hours http://t.co/GdNtznlD
- Make our voices heard. Help send 30,000 emails urging Senate Judiciary Committee members to act on #gun reform http://t.co/GdNtznlD
- #NowIsTheTime to rally friends, family & followers to help send 30,000 emails to Congress in the next 48 hours: http://t.co/GdNtznlD
- Nationwide call-to-action: Help rally friends & family to send 30,000 emails to Congress in the next 48 hours: http://t.co/GdNtznlD
- President, Gabby Giffords & Mark Kelly say #NowIsTheTime for #gun reform. Tell Congress you agree: http://t.co/NJBj2Vt8 http://t.co/bWHypNuY
U.S. House Candidate Nan Hayworth Turns Blind Eye to Terror Gap
Oct 18, 2010
Washington, D.C. - In a debate last week with her Democratic opponent, New York Republican Congressional candidate Nan Hayworth incorrectly said people on the terrorist watchlist cannot buy firearms in the United States. Congress' investigatory agency, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, strongly disagrees.
According to the GAO, from February 2004 through February 2010, Brady background checks revealed that individuals on the terrorist watch list tried to buy guns and explosives 1,225 times, and that 91 percent (1,119/1,228) of those sales were allowed to proceed because the checks revealed no other prohibiting information.
"There is no way that suspected terrorists ought to be able to purchase firearms in this country," said Sarah Brady, honorary chair of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. "If Nan Hayworth can't see that this is a problem, she should get her eyes checked."
Incumbent Congressman John Hall has cosponsored legislation that would help keep guns out of the hands of suspected terrorists. In December 2009, Rep. Hall signed on to New York Republican Congressman Peter King's bill, H.R.2159, the Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act of 2009. The legislation would close a dangerous loophole in federal gun laws and was earlier endorsed by the Bush Administration in 2007.
“Nan Hayworth either misunderstands gun laws as they pertain to suspected terrorists, or she was deliberately misstating the facts in order to evade the question,” said Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign. “In either case, this is not the type of response the voters should accept from someone who wants to represent the people of New York's 19th district.”
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The Brady Campaign is the nation's largest citizens' lobby to prevent gun violence. We represent the voice of the overwhelming majority of Americans who are tired of living with the constant tragedy of gun violence and are in favor of strong laws and policies that will save lives. We are the light that exposes politicians who are putting the American people at risk, empowering the American people to hold them accountable for decisions and actions that undermine public safety.
We are driven by the focused vision of a nation where all Americans are safe at home, at work, at school, and in our communities.
Dan Gross is the President of the Brady Campaign and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. A photo and more information about Dan Gross is available here.
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