VIDEO: Heinrich Announces Bipartisan Proposal To Help Keep Guns From Terrorists, Make Country Safer

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) helped forge a bipartisan solution with U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) to help keep guns from terrorists and make our country safer. At a press conference in the U.S. Capitol today, a group of senators from both sides of the aisle unveiled the Terrorist Firearms Prevention Act of 2016, which would prevent people who are on the No Fly List or the Selectee List from purchasing firearms.

"It's time to start putting progress in front of politics," said Senator Heinrich in his remarks. 

The legislation: 

• Gives the Attorney General (AG) the authority to deny firearms sales to individuals who appear on the No Fly List or the Selectee List. 

• Includes a "look-back" provision that ensures prompt notification to the FBI if a person who has been on the broader Terrorism Screening Database (TSDB) within the past five years purchases a firearm.

• Provides a process for Americans and green card holders to appeal a denial in U.S. Court of Appeals and to recover their reasonable attorneys fees if they prevail. 

• Sets forth a procedure for protecting classified information during the appeal. 

• Protects ongoing FBI counter-terrorism investigations by giving the AG the discretion to allow gun sales to go forward to individuals covered by this Act.

A copy of the Terrorist Firearms Prevention Act is here.