Terrorists' Right to Carry

Political violence is not an abstract concept in America, as a series of incidents this year has dramatized. The Department of Homeland Security has warned the nation that a dramatic increase in right-wing extremism since the election of President Obama increases the potential for domestic terrorism. The number of armed militias in America has increased a staggering 200% since 2008.

Recently, the U.S. Congress looked at why those on the FBI’s “Terrorist Watch List” can be prevented from boarding a plane, but not from purchasing firearms. Indeed, experience has shown that terrorists have little or no problems acquiring virtual arsenals of firearms in America, often legally. Something that has flown beneath the public radar, however, is how easy it is for terrorists to obtain permits to carry concealed handguns.

In March, nine members of the “Hutaree,” a Michigan-based militia group, were arrested for allegedly plotting to kill a law enforcement officer and then ambush police at the subsequent funeral with guns and explosives. Federal agents found a cache of firearms (including fully-automatic machine guns and unregistered short-barreled rifles), a variety of explosives, and more than 148,000 rounds of ammunition at just one of the homes they searched. Additionally, according to public records made available by the Ohio Sheriff’s office, at least two of the Hutaree members charged—Kristopher T. Sickles and Jacob J. Ward—had legally obtained concealed handgun permits in Ohio (most of the other charged members live in Michigan where the public is prohibited from accessing such records). Judge Victoria A. Roberts ordered the militia’s members to surrender their concealed handgun permits to authorities in a decision delivered on May 3.

Self-proclaimed “Christian warrior” Kristopher Sickles had openly shared his desire to initiate a Holy War against the government. He gained national attention in 2008 with a sequence of YouTube videos under the alias of “Pale Horse.” The videos display Sickles dressed in military fatigues, wearing a camouflaged balaclava over his face, cradling a firearm, and using a voice modulator. In one video he calls on Americans to arm themselves against their government. Sickles also produced two short films. The first, "Dement Incarnate," features a serial killer who is depicted reveling in the slaughter of a young child. The second film, "American Jihad," depicts a Michigan-based military group that brutally tortures and beheads a businessman. These videos and films were widely viewed online and “Pale Horse” even appeared on Alex Jones’ radio show.

The Hutaree are not the first members of a terrorist cell to acquire permits to carry concealed handguns in their communities. On September 25, 2009, authorities arrested and charged seven men for plotting an attack against the U.S. Marine Corps base in Quantico, as well as conspiring to provide material support to terrorists abroad. Three of the terrorists charged—Dylan Alexander Boyd, Daniel Patrick Boyd and Anes Subasic—were legally issued concealed handgun permits in the state of North Carolina. Subasic obtained his permit despite numerous outstanding international warrants for his arrest in Serbia. “Homegrown jihadi” Daniel Boyd also had an international criminal record. Boyd moved to Pakistan in 1989 and became involved with the Afghan militant group Hezb-e-Islami. In 1991 an Islamic Court tried Daniel for a suspected bank robbery where he allegedly stole $3,200, fired a handgun at bank officials, and fled. The sentence was eventually overturned on appeal after Boyd served several months of incarceration and hard labor.

Why these men—with their connections to terrorist groups and violent histories—were able to obtain permits to carry concealed handguns in public remains unknown. A simple Google search could have turned up much, or all, of the evidence documented above.

What is clear is that a majority of states in the U.S. make it far too easy for dangerous individuals to obtain concealed handgun permits. 37 states (including North Carolina, Michigan and Ohio) are “Shall-Issue” states that require a resident to undergo an instant computer background check and take a one-day safety and training class (if there is any training requirement at all) to obtain a permit. Law enforcement officials in these states are given no discretion to deny a permit if an applicant satisfies these basic criteria, even if they uncover additional disturbing background information about him/her. Three states (Alaska, Arizona, and Vermont) require no permit whatsoever to carry a concealed handgun.

The featured speaker at this year’s National Rifle Association (NRA) convention, Fox News host Glenn Beck, demonstrated the organization’s (misplaced) fears about terrorism when he stated, “God forbid, there's another Timothy McVeigh, and God forbid, that guy has in his wallet an NRA card.” Beck might have added, “And God forbid he has a permit to carry a concealed weapon,” given the NRA’s overwhelming support for liberal carry laws. Not to mention that the NRA has also vigorously opposed efforts to prohibit individuals on the Terrorist Watch List from buying guns. Washington Post writer Dana Milbank recently noted that if the standard is “Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists,” then “NRA chief Wayne LaPierre should be just a few frequent-flier miles short of a free ticket to Gitmo right about now.”

A Tale of Two Terrorists

When most Americans think about gun control, they think about laws that are designed to stop street criminals from obtaining firearms. In the post-9/11 era, however, such laws are equally important in foiling the violent ambitions of terrorists. Because the gun lobby has successfully blocked federal efforts to prohibit those on the FBI’s Terrorist Watch List from buying guns, it is frequently up to individual states to provide the necessary safeguards to prevent such purchases.

Two recent arrests that made national headlines provide an interesting contrast in terms of states’ ability (or willingness) to handle this responsibility.

The first was made on September 25, when authorities apprehended 33-year-old Anes Subasic after a nine-hour search of his home in Holly Springs, North Carolina. Officials found counterterrorism literature, an empty sniper scope case, and ammunition in the house. Subasic is a Muslim who fled Bosnia during its civil war (later becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen). Along with Daniel Boyd, Zakaria Boyd, Hysen Sherifi, Dlyan Boyd, Ziyad Yaghi, and Mohammad Omar Aly Hassain; Subasic was charged with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists. The cell is accused of planning violent overseas operations and an attack on the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia.

Not only was the cell able to acquire a substantial cache of firearms (Daniel Boyd was also charged with selling a Ruger mini 14 and ammunition to a convicted felon), but it has also been revealed that Subasic held a permit to carry a concealed handgun in North Carolina.

Not that there weren’t obvious red flags in his background... The Bosnian Serb Republic courts had issued four warrants for Subasic’s arrest, one of which was international. An official with the Bosnian Serb police stated that Subasic “is known to be part of a criminal gang that operated in the wider area of Bosnia and the region.” All told, Bosnian Serb police charged Subasic 11 times on 16 counts of attempted murder, extortion and robbery. A waitress in Banja Luka recalled Subasic entering a restaurant and spraying fire randomly with an automatic weapon. “Whoever knows Anes, they are not surprised [by his recent arrest],” she said.

Because North Carolina is a “shall-issue” state, authorities were required to issue Subasic a concealed carry permit after he passed a computerized background check (Subasic had only minor traffic offenses during his time in the U.S.). A simple background investigation should have turned up Subasic’s outstanding international warrants, but no such investigation is conducted either for firearm purchasers or concealed carry permit holders in North Carolina.

Another terrorist who was recently apprehended had a much harder time arming himself. On October 21, Tarek Mehanna, a 27 year-old resident of Sudbury, Massachusetts, was arrested and charged with providing material support to terrorists. Authorities say Mehanna was part of a cell that attempted to join terrorist groups in Iraq, Yemen and Pakistan. When they failed to gain admission, they began plotting attacks on U.S. soil.

Inspired by the 2002 sniper attacks in Washington, D.C., Mehanna and his co-plotters hatched a plan to commit a mass shooting in a shopping mall in Massachusetts. However, according to U.S. Attorney Michael Loucks, “Mehanna and his co-conspirators ultimately abandoned this plan, because they could not obtain the automatic weapons they thought necessary to effectively carry out such an assault.”

Massachusetts certainly does not make it easy for dangerous individuals to get assault weapons. Any resident seeking to obtain a "large capacity" weapon (including assault weapons capable of holding more than ten rounds of ammunition directly, or via a high-capacity magazine) must obtain a special Class A license. The screening requirements to obtain this license are extensive, and law enforcement is given the discretion to deny any applicant they believe is a potential threat to public safety.


Unregulated private sales of firearms are also closely regulated in Massachusetts. The state requires all private sellers to submit a written report documenting each firearm transfer to the executive director of the state’s Criminal History Systems Board. Purchasers of firearms from private sellers are also required to submit this information. Additionally, no more than four firearms may be transferred by a Massachusetts resident in this manner in a given calendar year.

The National Rifle Association loves to claim that criminals will always be able to obtain firearms, no matter what laws are passed. The case of Tarek Mehanna gives lie to this notion. Clearly, smart gun laws can deter dangerous individuals bent on arming themselves for violence. In a time when internal threats in our country are very real, state legislators should pay heed to the case of Mehanna and put public safety over the priorities of the gun lobby.