Jack Martins backs ‘no fly, no buy’ legislation

Noah Manskar

Republican congressional candidate Jack Martins said Tuesday he supports banning gun sales to people on the federal no-fly list, a measure many House Democrats support.

In a news release, the Old Westbury state senator said Congress should “work across the aisle” to pass a bill to prevent suspected terrorists from buying guns before its two-week recess begins at the end of the week.

“There are several different bills aimed at keeping suspected terrorists on the no-fly list from buying guns. Any of them is better than the status quo,” Martins said. “Congress needs to work together, come to an agreement and pass legislation to strengthen our national security.”

Republican leaders in the House of Representatives this week postponed votes on gun control measures until August, The Hill reported Monday.

Banning gun sales to people on the no-fly list was one of three proposals that spurred Democrats — including Rep. Steve Israel of Huntington, whom Martins is running to replace — to stage a sit-in on the House floor last month.

The protest came after Omar Mateen killed 49 people at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The FBI had investigated Mateen’s possible links to terrorist groups but ultimately found none.

Critics of the anti-terror gun-control measure, including the National Rifle Association, say it would take away the due process rights of people wrongly placed on the no-fly list.

Martins will likely face Democrat Tom Suozzi, a former Nassau County executive, in the race for the North Shore congressional district stretching from northeast Queens to northwest Suffolk County. Philip Pidot of Glen Cove is trying to force a Republican primary in court.

In a statement Wednesday, Suozzi’s campaign manager, Mike Florio, said Suozzi has a record of standing up to “powerful interests.”

“The people of Long Island and Queens need more than another Republican congressman who’ll say one thing during a campaign only to bow to the NRA and Republican Party extremists later,” Florio said.

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