Opinion
By Larry Keane

For America’s gun owners, including the 22.3 million new first-time gun owners since 2020, the latest shocking news about former U.S. Representative and former Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) being placed on the U.S. Government’s Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) Quiet Skies “list” should be gravely concerning.

The knowledge that former Congresswoman Gabbard was on the Quiet Skies “list” only came to light because of whistleblowers concerned of political retribution for her outspoken stances against the Biden-Harris administration. The track record of the federal government and watchlists is dismal. Federal agencies have abused these lists which are ripe for targeting political opposition – including Second Amendment supporters and gun owners.

‘Clear Act of Political Retaliation’

The quick recap is that former Rep. Gabbard, recently had some choice words for the Biden-Harris administration on Fox News and criticized the now-Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris as a weak candidate for holding flawed positions. That’s her First Amendment right to do so.

Show host Laura Ingraham pointed out the questionable timing of Rep. Gabbard’s placement on a government watchlist, saying, “So what exactly did Tulsi Gabbard do to get added to the terrorist watch list? It came the day after she criticized the Biden administration… How does this make you feel?”

The former congresswoman was blunt. “Laura, this is a pure act of political retaliation. There’s no other way to put it,” Rep. Gabbard said. “The very next day, after my conversation with you on the air warning the American people about how dangerous a Kamala Harris presidency could be, I was placed on this domestic terror watchlist, which is called the ‘Quiet Skies’ list under the Department of Homeland Security… To now have my own government now turn around and put me on a domestic terror watch list, it hits to the core and is the ultimate sense of betrayal.”

Rep. Gabbard also explained that “everything changed” for her and her family since being added to the watchlist on July 23. They endure excessive hours long security screenings at airports and have multiple federal air marshals on their flights. Rep. Gabbard explained the major concern is the unknown, saying, “This is the real pain and stress that’s been caused both to me and my family by this whole situation … day and night wondering if and what government institution and agency is monitoring my phone calls, surveilling me in my movement in my travels, knowing that they may be looking for some kind of excuse or derogatory action to come after me.”

Sound Familiar?

New guns owners, which comprise a Florida-sized population surge since 2020, might be unfamiliar with how some in the federal government treat gun owners, their private information and financial transactions. It’s not limited to the federal government. States that are hostile to gun rights have their own track record of abusing “lists” of gun owners.

In 2022, California officials apologized after a trove of private personal information of concealed carry permit holders was “leaked.” The sensitive information included the names, dates of birth, gender, race, driver’s license numbers and addresses of permit holders. That data leak also included the type of permit issued, indicating if the permit holder was a member of law enforcement or a judge.

In Washington, D.C., the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) admitted to U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) that it violated citizens’ Fourth Amendment rights when it collected the credit card purchase history from banks and credit card companies of individuals who purchased firearms and ammunition in the days surrounding Jan. 6, 2020. This all happened while gun control activists and antigun media personalities were pushing financial institutions to implement a Merchant Category Code (MCC) for credit card purchases at firearm stores. FinCEN would be the agency to handle all those “suspicious activity reports” from the credit card companies regarding those firearm-related purchases.

Treasury’s FinCEN had no cause, and sought the information without a warrant, to place law-abiding citizens on a government watchlist only because they exercised their Second Amendment rights to lawfully purchase firearms and ammunition. This is also why NSSF supports state and federal legislation to block financial institutions from requiring the use of a firearm-specific tracking code.

Setting the Table

Americans who support the Constitution and the right to keep and bear arms should watch closely to what the Democratic ticket has to say about gun control. For Vice President Kamala Harris and her vice presidential nominee, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, implementing universal background checks on all firearm purchases and transfers is one of their top priorities should they win The White House in November.

We need leaders with the courage to act.

Congress and state legislators must keep our communities safe by making background checks universal, passing red flag laws, and banning assault weapons.

— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) August 13, 2024

However, universal background checks on firearm sales and transfers would require a national gun registry in order to work. That’s unlawful. It would also have no effect on criminals, who overwhelmingly obtain firearms through illicit means

Thankfully, a national firearm registry is prohibited due to the 1986 Gun Control Act and the Brady Act of 1993, which created the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) and made clear that NICS cannot be used to create a firearm registry.

Rep. Gabbard is rightly concerned that she might be a victim of political targeting. Government watchlists are ripe for abuse and mistakes. Despite these flaws, Sen. Chris Murphy pushed for these lists to be employed against Americans to deny them their Second Amendment rights. History shown that even the late Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, was mistakenly added to the list in 2004. It took him and his staff weeks to get his name removed.

Now imagine how long it would take a normal, law-abiding American to get removed from the list, all for simply exercising their Constitutional rights. Government agencies creating “lists” of Americans that can be used to target them for political differences is concerning. For gun owners, they’ve already seen how these can be abused.

About The National Shooting Sports Foundation

NSSF is the trade association for the firearm industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of thousands of manufacturers, distributors, firearm retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations, and publishers nationwide. For more information, visit nssf.org