It Was Far Too Easy For Him To Enter U.S. & Get A Gun

Why was it so easy for Malik Akram (the terrorist in the Colleyville Synagogue) to get into the United States, and to then get a gun? Those are valid questions. Here's a small part of what the editorial board of The Washington Post had to say: 

Eleven hours of terror in a Texas synagogue ended mercifully this past weekend when the three remaining hostages escaped without injury. That was due in large measure to the smart thinking and quick actions of the synagogue’s rabbi, who engineered the flight from a gunman. The attack by an armed British citizen is being investigated as an act of terrorism. Among the troubling questions that must be answered is how did Malik Faisal Akram — who reportedly had a criminal record and a history of mental illness and was known to British intelligence — even manage to get into the United States? And how did he get a gun? . . .

Good questions. After 9/11, strict security protocols were put in place to screen out people coming to the United States with the aim of doing harm. What were the circumstances of Mr. Akram’s entry through New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on Dec. 29; was there a human mistake or a failure in the system that needs to addressed? It will be important for authorities to determine whether Mr. Akram acted alone. That it was seemingly so easy for him to acquire a gun — reportedly buying it off the street — underscores once again the complete folly of American gun laws.