Letter: On terrorism, GOP can't have it both ways

Since the senseless San Bernadino massacre, GOP members in both houses of Congress are doubling down on terrorism as the key issue facing our country. They could be right. Who knows what the future holds?

Assuming they are correct, it is obvious that we should be amping up measures to keep firearms, explosives, etc., out of the hands of anyone who is already viewed suspiciously in this light.

Where should we start? The so-called "terrorism watch list" would seem a good place; these are folks considered too dangerous to fly on commercial flights.

Apparently not. An amendment on the Senate floor to give the State Department the power to deny those individuals the right to buy firearms received one GOP vote. For the record, one Democrat voted against the measure. The GOP said that there could be people on the watch list that shouldn't be there, and that they would not want to unfairly penalize these folks. That makes a lot of sense, doesn't it?

The Senate also voted down a post Sandy Hook amendment that would yet again close loopholes and require universal background checks. Well, at least four GOP senators voted for that.

The GOP cannot have it both ways. If they are truly against terrorism, and we all should be, they cannot think it is smart to let those under suspicion buy firearms and explosives.

William Griffith

This story was originally published December 13, 2015 at 7:09 PM with the headline "Letter: On terrorism, GOP can't have it both ways."