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Mass. Lawmaker To Discuss Gun Ban Proposal With White House Staff

BOSTON (CBS) - A Massachusetts lawmaker has been invited to meet with White House staffers Wednesday to discuss a proposed ban on gun sales to terror suspects.

Representative Lori Ehrlich was on her way to Washington for a conference, when she got the call. "How many people have to die before we take action to protect ourselves," she asks.

Last December, she proposed a bill that would make it impossible for anyone on the FBI's terror watch list, or "no fly" list, to get a gun license in Massachusetts.

Lori Ehrlich
Mass. Rep. Lori Ehrlich (WBZ-TV)

The Orlando massacre has revived the debate. At one point, the shooter, Omar Mateen, was on the terror watch list, but was removed when investigations were dropped.

"It needs to change. We need to be able to protect ourselves," says Ehrlich.

Governor Charlie Baker supports her plan. "If you're on the terror watch list, you shouldn't be able to buy a gun. I think that goes without saying," Baker says.

The federal Government Accountability Office did a study two years ago finding that 91 percent of terror suspects who tried to buy guns were successful. It amounted to more than 2,000 people on the terrorism watch list with newly purchased weapons.

Other lawmakers are trying to raise the conversation at the federal level, but in the past it has met resistance from gun rights advocates.

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