Gun control

Why blocking the "terror loophole" at gun stores could actually hurt security

In the Senate Monday night, lawmakers will take part in a high-stakes vote on new gun control legislation, a response to the terrorist attack in Orlando and Sen. Chris Murphy’s ensuing filibuster. The first reform, and to many people the most obvious one, is a bill pushed by Democrats: Give the U.S. Attorney General the power to block gun sales to anyone on the terrorist watch list.

The Democrats’ argument for closing the so-called terror loophole makes a lot of sense on paper: If a suspected terrorist is too dangerous to fly, then he or she is also too dangerous to buy a gun. Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s bill, which will receive a vote Monday night, is an attempt at plugging that hole.