Heitkamp, Collins Bipartisan Compromise Legislation to Keep Guns from Terrorists, Protect Americans Gets Majority of Support in U.S. Senate

Press Release

U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today issued the following statement after compromise legislation she introduced with Republican Senator Susan Collins from Maine and a bipartisan group of senators received the support of a majority of the U.S. Senate during an initial vote. The legislation would help keep guns and explosives from terrorists and protect American families.

"It's just commonsense -- if someone is too dangerous to board an airplane, they're too dangerous to buy a gun," said Heitkamp. "For the first time on such a contentious issue, a bipartisan group of senators worked in good faith to craft a compromise proposal that effectively balances Second Amendment rights -- a critical right in our constitution -- with keeping guns from terrorists to protect American families, and I'm proud to have been part of this effort. Now that we had an initial vote on this proposal, we'll keep working to gather additional bipartisan support for it. The U.S. Senate has a real chance to show that Congress can work for the American people, support a strong national security, and keep guns out of the hands of terrorists while still protecting Americans' Second Amendment rights through due process -- by holding a vote to move this bill forward."

Heitkamp began working with Collins as week ago on the bipartisan compromise legislation and continued making adjustments through the weekend and early this week before announcing it today. The legislation was offered as an amendment to a must pass spending bill the U.S. Senate was debating. A bipartisan group of members in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced the proposal today in the House.

Also today, a group of 11 former top military generals and veterans announce their strong support for the proposal. The group includes Retired General Stanley McChrystal, former commander of U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan and of the Joint Special Operations Command, and Retired General David Petraeus, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and former leader of coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The bipartisan, targeted legislation incorporates commonsense proposals that would:

Prevent those on the government's "No-Fly' list or the so-called "selectee' list from legally purchasing guns or explosives from licensed dealers. According to news reports, Omar Mateen was on the selectee list for 10 months.

More effectively enable Americans who appear on the lists incorrectly to get off them. The legislation would provide due process by allowing individuals to appeal decisions blocking their purchases of firearms directly to a federal court of appropriate jurisdiction and challenge their names being included on one of these lists, and, if successful, have their names removed from the list and to awarded attorney's fees.

Implement a "five-year look-back' provision to raise a red flag if anyone who is, or was, entered into the broader Terrorist Screening Database attempts to or buys a gun or explosives from a licensed dealer. If an individual's name appeared in the Terrorist Screening Database within the last five years and purchases a gun or explosives through a federal firearms licensed dealer, the U.S. Attorney General, federal, state, and local law enforcement would be immediately notified.

Heitkamp has long backed tough, smart national security policies to keep communities in North Dakota and across the country strong and safe -- including legislation she sponsored this month to fully fund the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) by adding $175 million in additional funding to the FBI's counter-terrorism efforts. That federal funding would add nearly 400 counter-terrorism positions to equip FBI to better handle emerging threats.

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