If you're on the watchlist you'd be barred from buying a gun. The list sure as shit isn't perfect, but considering we won't do anything real about it...
we can do something real about the watchlist, and then legislate gun control laws from there. considering that there is no due process or evidence-based system of determining who is actually linked to terrorism, i can understand the objection to that bill.
a lot of gaffers seem pretty convinced that their search history has the potential to some sort of list, that doesn't indicate a system that is working and indicates a system where people can have their rights taken away arbitrarily. even more insidious is the potential for institutionalized racism because of the watchlist. it's a pretty safe assumption that there are muslims or people of arab descent who are on the watchlist for no good reason other than their race.
to be honest, this guy being on a watchlist doesn't
really mean anything because there are thousands of americans on the list who are not linked in any way to terrorism. this guy happened to be a radical dipshit but it's not like the fbi really did anything about or see him as a risk because of the apparently broad criteria of the list.
wrt to gun control and this senseless tragedy, it's apparent that this kid had gear that was not supposed to be obtainable by a civilian, that right there needs to be examined. we can't diminish the awful way american society looks at LGBT people either.