U.S. Reps. discuss gun legislation on a panel in Berkley – Photos by The AANews

BERKLEY — Democratic Congress members acknowledged a defect in a proposed gun legislation in the House of Representatives that would deny individuals on the No-Fly list the right to buy firearms. They said it should be corrected, but offered no solutions. 

On Wednesday, lawmakers were joined by gun reform advocates on a panel to continue the discussion propelled by a sit-in on the House floor last week.

In a room filled with concerned citizens, activists and journalists at the Berkley Public Safety Department, members of Congress who staged the sit-in to demand action about gun violence following the Orlando mass shooting conveyed accountability and recounted the moments that unfolded during the demonstration in Congress.

Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn), a panelist who’d participated in the sit-in, said the demonstration and speech she gave was more spontaneous that people might believe.

Dingell, whose husband is a former NRA member, said the aim is to force Congress to allow them to vote on the issue and ultimately keep guns away from the mentally ill and violent individuals like terrorists and domestic abusers.

“All I’m asking for is all of us to come together,” Dingell told the crowd. “If we can end violence in this country, then we can make these communities safer.”

Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Flint) who’d demonstrated with Dingell, said his colleagues were surprised by hundreds of protestors outside the Capitol building who chanted in support of gun reform. He said that  fact and the millions who shared the news on social media signaled to him that the public was in support of change regarding gun laws. 

Rep. John Conyers (D-Detroit), who’d also participated in the sit-in, delivered impassioned remarks against assault rifles and called for adequate background checks for gun buyers.

Conyers urged the closing of loopholes that allow individuals to buy guns without going through the proper channels to do so. According to him, 40 percent of gun sales are between citizens. 

“We need to renew the ban on all assault rifles,” he added.

Two persistent jeers drowned out most of the audience’s approving cheers. 

In response to the jeers, Conyers said that as each tragedy occurs, more and more people are calling for a ban on assault rifles.

“If you’re too dangerous to fly, we’re going to say we don’t want you to have a weapon,” he added.

In 2014, a leaked FBI report claimed that Dearborn had the second highest ratio of individuals with known or suspected terrorism ties, placing many residents on the No-Fly list.

Civil rights organizations and attorneys have gone to great lengths to correct the list, fighting for due process and removing innocent individuals who have no criminal or terrorism records, including babies and a disabled man.

Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi, spiritual leader of the Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn Heights, was among the panelists who called for gun reform.

Elahi said the debate should be about ensuring responsibility when carrying a gun.

“It’s not about anti-guns, it’s about anti-violence, anti-terrorism, anti-mass shooting and anti-crime,” Elahi said. “So it’s not gun control, it’s violence control.”

Elahi also questioned if the “No Fly, No Buy” bill is the “perfect prescription”, given the inaccuracy of the list.

“Some people are on the No-Fly list and are innocent,” he said. “And there are people that are not on that list and are criminal.” 

However, Elahi relegated the issue to a matter of minor details.

“But that is a matter of technicality that should be dealt with,” he added. “That is not the real issue. Technicalities can be dealt with.”

Elahi told The Arab American News that he was once a victim of the No-Fly list and was questioned at airports for years, until he was eventually removed from the list. He said the experience was humiliating.

He also told The Arab American News that before enforcing the proposed “No Fly-No Buy” statute, officials should ensure the list is a fair one. To do that, he urged better communication and relationships between the Arab American community and its representatives.

“You cannot fight injustice with injustice,” he said.

Elahi said the bill’s title is being used by representatives as the safest method to sell the product of gun reform to obtain the support they need from Congress and the American public.

Dingell told The Arab American News that while she is working on legislation to ensure individuals are not wrongfully placed on the No-Fly list, she has been unable to obtain any information regarding how many or who is on the list. 

“That’s what I can’t find out,” she said. “There are reports of millions, but I don’t have access. Nobody has good information, and we need to build transparency and due process.”

Phil O’Dwyer, Berkley’s mayor, said he thinks it is important that people be on the list for just reasons, but that more questions should be asked of them. 

He said no one knows how many of Berkley and neighboring cities’ residents are on the list.

“We don’t have exact data. That’s a fact,” he said.

 Rep. Sandy Levin (D-Royal Oak), who’d also protested on the House floor, told The Arab American News that although he recognizes that many individuals are wrongfully on the No-Fly list, it would be a mistake to not use it as a means to deny suspect individuals from buying weapons.

“We have to make sure it’s something realistic,” Levin said. “But if we just do nothing because of any imperfections, people who belong on the no fly list will be able to get guns.”

He added that working to correct the list is currently not a priority in Congress.

Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-Southfield), who’d also sat-in, told the audience that those who are on the list erroneously are victims of identity fraud and that there is a process in place to “mitigate through that.”

Fatina Abdrabboh, director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee’s Michigan chapter, said the ADC challenges cases of innocent individuals on the No-Fly list on a regular basis, as there are dozens reports of such situations every season. She said the disproportionate number of Dearbornites on the list is concerning. 

“The arrows all point to the direction of racial profiling,” said Abdrabboh, who is also an attorney. “There’s no sense of how people get on that list, but we do know that there are babies on that list.”

To the victims she represents in court, Abdrabboh said being on the list is more than an inconvenience. 

“It’s humiliating,” she said. “We continue to get responses that are bureaucratic.”

She added the problem continues to be the top issue driving a wedge between the Arab American community and the federal government.