Reid: GOP ‘cowardice’ on guns leaves America ‘vulnerable to attack’

by Bradford Richardson - 12/05/15 4:09 PM ET

Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) says Republicans are increasing the odds of another terrorist attack on American soil by blocking legislation aimed at taking guns out of the hands of citizens suspected of holding terrorist sympathies.

“By blocking efforts to give law enforcement the tools they need to keep guns out of the hands of FBI terror suspects, Republicans are leaving every American community vulnerable to an attack by terrorists armed with assault weapons – just like the attacks we saw in Paris and San Bernardino,” Reid said in a statement Saturday.

{mosads}“Republicans should be ashamed of themselves and their cowardice,” he added.

Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked an amendment to the ObamaCare repeal bill that would have blocked people on the no-fly list from being allowed to purchase guns.

Conservatives feared the amendment would strip Americans of their due process rights.

But Reid said the senators denied “law enforcement officials the tools they need to immediately bar FBI terror suspects from purchasing a gun – even after a suspect pledges allegiance to ISIS and even after the FBI knows the suspect intends to use the firearms to commit a terrorist act.”

The FBI is notified when a firearms or explosives background check involves someone on the terrorist watch-list.

Authorities said one of the suspects in Wednesday’s San Bernardino, Calif., shooting pledged her allegiance to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) during the attack.

The alleged assailants used .223-caliber semiautomatic weapons in the attack that were originally purchased legally, but unlawfully altered to be more lethal, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Fourteen people were killed and 21 injured when the gunmen stormed the Inland Regional Center, which provides social services to those with developmental disabilities.

Tags Gun control Harry Reid San Bernardino shootings