On the heels of the deadliest mass shooting in American history, a new report released by the office of Sen. Dianne Feinstein reveals disturbing data about how easy it is for individuals on the terror watch list to purchase firearms. The terrorist responsible for killing at least 49 people at an Orlando gay nightclub with an Sig Sauer MCX rifle (which is similar to a AR-15) had been previously involved in investigations related to terrorism. During the shooting, he pledged allegiance to ISIS.
According to the report, last year people on the terror watch list attempted to buy guns on 244 occasions—223 were “allowed to proceed.” That means 91 percent of time, people on the terror watch list could by guns. In fact, since background checks have included people on the terror watch list, people on the list that attempted to by guns 2,477 different times. Of all of them, just 212 were denied.
