On the recordDecember 8, 2015
I am astonished by the proposition of our friend the Senator from Connecticut that you can be on a secret watch list by the Federal Government, and just by virtue of this secret listing of an individual on a government watch list, you can be denied some of your core constitutional rights without any necessity of the government establishing probable cause or producing any evidence that would justify the denial of a core constitutional right. I guess if it is good enough to take the government's word by this list without proof or showing of probable cause to deny a citizen their constitutional rights under the Second Amendment, then I guess that is good enough to deny a citizen's right to worship according to the dictates of their conscience, freedom of speech, freedom of association, and all of the other rights enumerated in the Constitution. It is an outrageous proposition. I would say to my friend, if these people on this government watch list are truly dangerous, why isn't the Obama administration and the Obama Justice Department indicting them, taking them to court, trying them, and convicting them of crimes? Instead, you have this secret watch list, without any proof, without any evidence. I would just say that the Senator has mischaracterized the amendment which I proposed last week and which I have now offered by unanimous consent.…
Source
govinfo.gov




