In his November 24th joint press conference, with President Hollande of France, concerning the Paris attacks, President Obama said “…another part of defeating terrorists like ISIL, is upholding the rights and freedoms that define our two great republics. …There have been times in our history, in moments of fear, when we have failed to uphold our highest ideals, and it has been to our lasting regret.  We must uphold our ideals now.”

Despite his lofty words, the President dropped his defense of our highest ideals the minute terrorism struck in California.  And no, we are not just talking about gun rights but Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment rights to due process.

The President Obama’s and Hillary Clinton’s proposal, which should send chills down the spine of every civil libertarian — no matter what their thoughts on gun control, would strip citizens of their gun rights without any due process and in a totally arbitrary and capricious manner.   What we are talking about is their proposal to give the executive branch the power to deprive Americans of their gun rights by placing them on a terror watch list.

While the USSC supports keeping guns out of the hands of terrorists, this scheme will do nothing to stop terrorists who will simply get guns on the black market or use other devices such as bombs to kill and maim.

Under their scheme, the Obama administration or a future Clinton administration would get to decide who is on the list.  There is no due process, no hearing, no recourse or legal mechanism to contest your name on the list.  Additionally, the system relies on names, not identities,so it is prone to errors, which in fact is why the late Senator Ted Kennedy ended up on a terror watch list.

Think the President wouldn’t abuse this and find a way to put your name on the list?   Ask the more than 120,000 U.S. military veterans whose names have been added to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, i.e. “the you can’t own a gun list” under President Obama.

President Obama’s attack on veterans stems from the Gun Control Act of 1968, which prohibits those who have been adjudicated as a mental defective from purchasing firearms.  The key term here is, adjudicated, meaning some type of judicial process.  President Obama, using his executive authority, has decided that if a disabled veteran is deemed incapable of managing his or her own finances by the Veterans Administration they have been adjudicated a mental defective.    No hearing, no chance to present one’s case or look at evidence, simply a government stamp in one's file, and a veteran is labeled a mental defective.  Once so labeled, their name goes to the Justice Department to be added to the “no gun list.” 

Under President Obama’s definition of a mental defective, our veterans are losing their gun rights simply because they are in a wheelchair, live far from a bank, and elect to have a relative to handle their VA checks.  This past summer, the Los Angeles Times reported that the Obama administration is trying to do the same thing with four million social security recipients. 

If you think there is no way you will be tagged as a potential terrorist, think again.  Back in 2009, an intelligence assessment issued by President Obama’s Homeland Security listed as potential terrorist threats; returning veterans, gun owners, and organizations dedicated to a single issue.  This administration has shown that it will stop at nothing to take away the gun rights of as many people as possible, by bending the laws in ways they were never intended to be bent, solely in order to get them onto some type of “no gun list.” 

Again, even if you hate guns, this issue has deep implications for you.  If the executive branch of the government is given the power to take away a constitutional right with no due process, what other rights can they take away?