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Following New York’s near-miss of a bombing in Time’s Square on Tuesday, US legislators are calling for major reforms in dealings with terror suspects. Independent Senator Joe Lieberman has suggested an amendment to a current law that strips American citizens fighting for foreign armies (excepting that of Israel) of their citizenship. Lieberman’s amendment would revoke the citizenship of any American who “is found to be involved in a foreign terrorist organization.” The Senator has both bipartisan and bicameral support, with Democratic Representative Jason Altimore of Pennsylvania and Republican Rep. Charlie Dent backing legislation in the House. However, opponents, including House Minority Leader John Boehner, point to the flimsy constitutional foundation for the legislation. “If they’re a U.S. citizen, until they’re convicted of some crime, I don’t know how you would attempt to take their citizenship away.” Furthermore, it is unclear how real terrorists would be differentiated from suspects. In addition to being constitutionally questionable, most experts find that racial profiling and terror surveillance are inefficient—in fact, they are counterproductive. Meanwhile, Senator Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Representative Peter King (R-NY) have introduced legislation in the House and Senate that would prevent known or suspected terrorists from purchasing firearms and other weapons. The legislation has a wide coalition of support, including that of New York’s Mayor Bloomberg. Dissenters include Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and NRA leaders.

GUEST: Shahid Buttar, Executive director of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee