Portman stands firm on gun purchases and the terror watchlist despite media misrepresentation

Should persons who are placed on secret government lists without due process or any way to appeal automatically have their Second Amendment rights violated?

Last December, following a terrorist attack in San Bernadino, CA, Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) joined a majority of his fellow U.S. senators in voting AGAINST an amendment proposed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) that would have given the U.S. Attorney General what amounted to a discretionary veto on gun sales to anyone “appropriately suspected” of having some connection to “terrorism.”

Portman warned that people can wind up on the watch list by mistake, and expressed his belief in due process of law.

This week, to read the newspaper headlines, one would think Senator Rob Portman (R) has flip-flopped on that vote following yet another terrorist attack in Orlando.

Headlines from Ohio newspapers screamed the news:

Portman changes stance allowing those on terror watch list to buy guns!! (Dayton Daily News)

Rob Portman urges ban on gun sales for terror suspects!! (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

Portman, Kasich talk of limiting gun access after Orlando shooting!! (Columbus Dispatch)

The articles were based on a conference call Portman conducted with reporters, but there's just one problem - Portman hasn't reversed his stance on the Feinstein amendment or his insistence on due process before a person's Constitutional rights can be taken away.

Back in December, even as he voted against the Feinstein amendment, Portman and other Republicans voted for an alternative, offered by Sen. John Coryn (R-TX), that would give the U.S. attorney general the power to block a gun sale to a person on the terrorist watch list for 72 hours, but then requires DOJ to go to court and convince a judge that there’s probable cause to believe the purchaser is a known or suspected terrorist.

The NRA issued a statement which favorably mentioned the Coryn position on June 15, which states as follows:

The NRA believes that terrorists should not be allowed to purchase or possess firearms, period. Anyone on a terror watchlist who tries to buy a gun should be thoroughly investigated by the FBI and the sale delayed while the investigation is ongoing. 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 watchlist to be removed. That has been the position of Sen. John Cornyn (R.-Tex.) and a majority of the U.S. Senate.

Supporters of the Coryn amendment believe that if individuals on the terror watch list are a danger to national security or public safety, then the federal government should investigate them, arrest them, and prosecute them. That is what the Cornyn proposal calls for. The Feinstein amendment, on the other hand, has no similar proposal, but instead, it would give anti-gun bureaucrats the power to deny Second Amendment rights based merely on their own “reasonable belief” concerning someone’s present or future intentions.

While neither the San Bernadino or Orlando terrorists were on the watch list at the time they bought their guns, there is great pressure in Washington to "do something." The NRA and Republicans like Rob Portman are standing up to ensure that any legislation that is enacted would both stop any terrorists AND protect the rights of law-abiding citizens.

It is important to note that, had Democrats, including Sherrod Brown (D-OH), supported the Coryn amendment back in December, it would be law NOW.

Gun rights advocates have long known that they can't trust the media, but not everyone realizes just how low they will stoop to push their agenda. Thanks to the social media culture, headlines are sometimes all that people read. Editors at the Dayton Daily News, Columbus Dispatch and Cleveland Plain Dealer clearly know this, because nothing in their articles support the claims made in the headlines.

I contacted Senator Portman's office for comment on the articles, and his response was as follows:

"My position is the same now as it was last year. I support denying known or suspected terrorists from being able to purchase a firearm. That’s that the Cornyn amendment does. And I voted for it not only because it accomplishes the goal of denying guns to terrorists, but also because it provides stronger due process protections for law-abiding citizens and it’s tougher on terrorism than the Feinstein plan.”

Senator Portman is up for reelection this year, and as such he is being put under incredible pressure by extremists in the media, who abuse their First Amendment rights in a propaganda battle against the Second Amendment. Meanwhile, his opponent Ted Strickland (D), has announced that he is joining Senate Democrats who are staging a filibuster on the floor of the U.S. Senate to demand action on gun control.

Please reach out to Senator Portman and express your thanks for his vote, and ask him to continue to fight to protect the rights of Americans even as he fights to protect the homeland.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary, BFA PAC Vice Chairman, and an NRA-certified firearms instructor. He is the editor of BuckeyeFirearms.org, which received the Outdoor Writers of Ohio 2013 Supporting Member Award for Best Website.