There is nothing in the PATRIOT Act that limits this sweeping bulk collection to phone records. The government can use the PATRIOT Act's business records authority to collect, collate and retain all sorts of sensitive information, including medical records, financial records, or credit card purchases.They could use this authority to develop a database of gun owners or readers of books and magazines deemed subversive. This means that the government's authority to collect information on law-abiding American citizens is essentially limitless. If it is a record held by a business, membership organization, doctor, or school, or any other third party, it could be subject to bulk collection under the PATRIOT Act.[emphasis mine]
Wonder if the NRA will ask Congress to prevent the NSA from gathering this data. That would be interesting (albeit unlikely). Or even better, to sue to prevent this (IIRC, Congress has made it explicitly illegal for any government agency to establish a gun registry).
3 comments:
I noticed the same concern was brought up by at least one of the plaintiffs (Franklin Armory) in the everyone-against-the-NSA suit:
"One of the main reasons why we are interested in this opportunity is because the wholesale spying on American citizens will likely create a reverse firearms registry. If the NSA is able to require communication companies to provide data on who calls Franklin Armory or our dealers, then they could produce a list of probable firearms owners. Besides the obvious First Amendment and Fourth Amendment violations, the NSA actions have created a backdoor infringement of our Second Amendment right as well."
https://www.facebook.com/franklin.armory/posts/335885909877817
It's not going to get overturned, and there is probably already a file on each of us from out emails and posts...
If you don't think they already HAVE a partial registry from the 4473s of closed businesses, I've got a bridge in Alaska to sell.
They just don't TALK about it.
And if it ever gets made public, they won't regret making the registry. They'll only regret getting caught.
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