No Fly, No Buy? No Way.

In the wake of the Islamic terror attack in Orlando, Florida, politicians on both sides of the aisle were quick to call for the passing of a “no fly, no buy” law preventing suspected terrorists from obtaining firearms legally.

To use such a list as the basis for restricting Constitutional rights is entirely antithetical to the rule of law.

Proponents of that law say it’s a commonsense measure that doesn’t undermine the Second Amendment in any way but will keep weapons from the hands of those who wish to do the country and its citizens harm.

But while this legislation may sound completely reasonable and sensible, such an act could very well end up denying firearms to far more than just dangerous terrorists, and is a threat to the Constitution and the rights of all Americans.

The bill grants the attorney general the discretion to stop those suspected of being involved in terrorism from purchasing firearms legally, but the AG will not be looking at every single terrorist suspect individually to decide if he will exercise that discretion — the no-fly and terrorist watch lists, respectively, will be the basis for who is prohibited from purchasing firearms.

Herein lies the problem, for the no-fly and terrorist watch lists are likely littered with the names of people who shouldn’t be on them. It is shockingly easy for a completely innocent person to find themselves on those lists, and that person would not even know they were on it until they tried to fly.

“Can you name another constitutional right that we have that is chilled until you find out that it is chilled and then you have to petition the government to get it back?” asked Trey Gowdy in the aftermath of the 2015 San Bernardino Islamic terror attack, after which the Democrats also tried to ban those on the no-fly list from obtaining firearms.

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People can find themselves on the no-fly list merely for sharing the name of suspected terrorist. They can also find themselves on the no-fly or terror watch list if they travel to unstable countries frequently — something journalists, doctors, foreign aid groups, and government contractors frequently do. Completely innocent, law-abiding chemists and photographers have also been put on the list for purchasing certain types of chemicals.

Fox News journalist Stephen Hayes found himself on the no-fly list “because I took a trip to Turkey with my wife” — a one-way flight into Istanbul, he said. “And then we flew out of Athens a couple weeks later … Apparently that raised some alarm. And several of the TSA officers that I’ve spoken to since then said, yeah, that would do it.”

Democratic Sen. Jon Tester was correct when he said “you don’t get put on that no-fly list for doing nothing. Something happened.” But clearly that something can often be entirely innocent and harmless.

But not only does the “no fly, no buy” bill threaten to restrict innocent Americans’ Second Amendment rights, the list that would serve as the basis of that restriction is arguably unconstitutional itself.

Republican critics and gun-rights proponents have argued the no-fly list is fundamentally unconstitutional as it deprives Americans of their rights to due process. American citizens are not to have their rights deprived until and unless they have been lawfully charged, tried, and convicted of a crime in a court. The no-fly list restricts Americans’ liberty — their ability to board a plane freely — without any due process whatsoever.

“The [National Rifle Association] believes that terrorists should not be allowed to purchase or possess firearms, period,” said the NRA’s Chris Cox. “At the same time, due process protections should be put in place that allow law-abiding Americans who are wrongly put on a watch list to be removed.” Such protections do not currently exist.

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Even the American Civil Liberties Union agrees that the no-fly list undermines due process. “A system in which innocent people languish on blacklists indefinitely, with their rights curtailed and their names sullied, is at odds with our Constitution and values,” a statement on its website reads. And the courts have agreed.

In 2004, an FBI agent placed Rahinah Ibrahim on the no-fly list by mistake. Ibrahim eventually sued the government, but the Obama administration cited “state secrets privilege” in order to cover up the FBI’s mistake. In 2014, a judge eventually ruled her right to due process had been violated.

The names on the no-fly list are secret. Not only do people not know if they’re on the list until they try to board a plane, but it is also incredibly difficult for people to get off the list once they’re on it — even if innocent. To use such a list as the basis for restricting Constitutional rights is entirely antithetical to the rule of law.