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OPINION

Why The No-Fly Lie Must Die

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.
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Some things about this no-fly list just don’t fly—

Does it mean the scanners and screening at TSA airport checkpoints don’t work on those people? That’s why we need the list?

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Those folks could board with guns and knives and bombs if we didn’t ban them—with a list? The X-ray machines, wands and bomb swabs work for the rest of us, but not on them? Does that make sense to you?

Are those people charged with something? Have they been convicted of anything? That’s rhetorical. No to both questions, I asked the FBI. They are just banned from flying. Why? The FBI won’t say. It’s a secret. How do you get on the list? I found out that’s a secret too. You lose your right to fly by secret. The list is kept secret by police. Secret police list. Those are words we’re not supposed to connect in this free country.

People on this secret police list can still take Amtrak, or a bus, or drive to Cincinnati. Or anywhere. If those people are that dangerous why are they still walking around? I asked the FBI. No answer. What sense does that make? Who are these people? That’s a secret too.

Well it’s not a secret to (name withheld to protect the innocent). I met her at a trade show in the press office. Her toddler daughter got a flight ticket with her, but when they got to the gate, they found out she’s on the list, and couldn’t board. Just like Senator Ted Kennedy. It turns out a lot of ordinary people are on the list. The ACLU is fighting the whole concept, for a whole lot of good reasons. But not for the best reason.

“That is insane.”

So with all this as a background, Mr. Obama announced recently on TV, “Right now, people on the no-fly list can walk into a store and buy a gun. That is insane. If you’re too dangerous to board a plane, you’re too dangerous, by definition, to buy a gun.”

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During his recent gun-control TV town hall, this man who took an oath to “preserve, protect and defend” our Constitution repeated this twisted logic, and wild cheers erupted from the democrat-packed audience. It makes sense, it has a certain appeal, if you don’t look at it too hard like we’re about to do—or if you’re brain dead. If you really want guns to “just go away” this would work—until you realize it leaves guns in the hands of the agents running the list.

An arbitrary list, with no checks and balances, no functional controls or due process of any kind, will deny our fundamental constitutional civil and human rights. Some of your fellow citizens cheered this. The man currently in the White House is calling for the list.

By implication, if you can’t buy a gun, you certainly aren’t free to possess any of the firearms you already own, right? Someone should come and take all those guns away from you because they must be contraband. You’re too dangerous to own them.

Mr. Obama wants to turn an arbitrary no-fly list run by the government into an arbitrary no-buy list for your fundamental right to keep and bear arms. The gloves are off, the cat is out of the bag, the lie is bald-faced:

The man in the White House has publicly announced

his intention to summarily disarm the public

based on a secret police list of people

who are not charged with anything.

It would be insane, according to him, to object to this plan, because people on the list are too dangerous to have firearms. Because they are too dangerous to travel by air—but not in any other way. Because they are charged with... nothing. His supporters cheer vigorously at the announcement. This has all the earmarks of a colored-shirt operation we witnessed in Europe that led to World War II.

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The “news” media remained largely—and ominously—silent at the announcement. Are they afraid they might end up on the list? Did they spot any of the obvious contradictions even within the announcement? It would be easy to dismiss their inability to understand the constitutional problems. They perpetually demonstrate they are unschooled in its intricacies, as they run hither and yon cheering for candidates instead of reporting about them, supporting socialism instead of The American Way, arguing for the rule of no law, and now this.

If you like your guns we can take your guns, by putting you on this list. Anyone who objects is by definition insane. Have a nice day.

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