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NRA Joins ACLU Lawsuit Against NSA

Posted by timothy on from the but-don't-worry-nics-remains-unimpeachable dept.

cold fjord writes with this excerpt from The Hill: "The National Rifle Association joined the American Civil Liberties Union's lawsuit on Wednesday to end the government's massive phone record collection program. In a brief filed in federal court, the NRA argues that the National Security Agency's database of phone records amounts to a 'national gun registry.' 'It would be absurd to think that the Congress would adopt and maintain a web of statutes intended to protect against the creation of a national gun registry, while simultaneously authorizing the FBI and the NSA to gather records that could effectively create just such a registry,' the group writes. ... In its filing, the gun-rights group claims that the NSA's database would allow the government to identify and track gun owners based on whether they've called gun stores, shooting ranges or the NRA. 'Under the government's reading of Section 215, the government could simply demand the periodic submission of all firearms dealers' transaction records, then centralize them in a database indexed by the buyers' names for later searching,' the NRA writes."

3 of 531 comments (clear)

  1. It has happened before by Beryllium+Sphere(tm) · · Score: 5, Informative

    The NRA and ACLU were joint petitioners to the Clinton Administration trying to restrain a patter of abuses by Federal law enforcement. (Clinton ignored them).

    1. Re:It has happened before by sycodon · · Score: 5, Informative

      One very disturbing trend is the use of heavily armed SWAT teams to carry out actions related to civil and not criminal investigations.

      Just the other day the EPA sent a SWAT team to check on the water quality at several small gold mining operations in Alaska.

      Of course, Ruby Ridge and Waco will always be examples of out of control Feds.

      --
      When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
  2. Re:This just in: by msauve · · Score: 5, Informative
    "they aren't after your stupid guns."

    Depends on who you mean by "they."

    If I could have gotten 51 votes in the Senate of the United States for an outright ban, picking up every one of them . . . Mr. and Mrs. America, turn 'em all in, I would have done it. I could not do that. The votes weren't here.

    - Sen. Diane Feinstein, February 5, 1995

    Confiscation could be an option...mandatory sale to the state could be an option

    - NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo, December 20, 2012

    --
    "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law