A no fly list fix

If this proposal caught on, I bet the government would clean up the "no fly list" and the "terrorist watch list" right quickly. Like yesterday.

The suburban Chicago Sun Herald editorializes:

Today, nearly seven years after terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Center, it is hard to believe those listed on our government's "no fly list" can legally purchase guns.

What is Congress waiting for? ...

... we believe closing the no-fly-list loophole and others are reasonable attempts at restrictions that might prevent violence. They should be adopted by Congress as soon as possible.

Sure, this is a roundabout attempt to bring attention to the yawning loopholes that the gun lobby had driven through all efforts at gun regulation. The editorial talks further about gun trade show exceptions to existing requirements, the lack of any background check on gun store employees, and the permission that gun dealers who loose their licenses enjoy to sell off their stock.

We know this proposal is going nowhere -- gun owners who think the Feds are out to get them will never let it. But why do we allow the government to compile, without any judicial process, ever expanding lists of names of people who it then subjects to extra scrutiny when they carry on ordinary activities?