The FBI's no-fly list has some 81,000 names, but fewer than 1,000 are Americans, Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein revealed on the Senate floor Monday.
The Washington Times reports Feinstein also said the TSA selectee list, which doesn't ban flying, but mandates greater scrutiny, has about 28,000 names, of which some 1,700 are U.S. persons.
Feinstein was trying to minimize the damage done to the constitutional rights of those Americans wanting to purchase weapons with her proposal to prevent gun sales to those who appear on the lists.
However, she left out a broader list, the Terrorist Screening Database, which has some one million names. Democratic legislation would also bar someone appearing on that list from purchasing a firearm.
Feinstein's revelation came during a debate on gun control in the heated atmosphere following the Orlando massacre earlier this month. None of the measures passed.
The American Civil Liberties Union has come out against these lists, with the ACLU's Hina Shamsi telling
McClatchy DC: "What we have today is a massive watch listing system based on vague and over broad criteria that risks stigmatizing hundreds of thousands of people, including Americans, as known or suspected terrorists based on secret evidence and without a meaningful process to challenge government error and clear their names."
That is also the argument of Republicans, who add that all the lists are also filled with errors.
Democrats have also pointed out mistakes. Rep. Stephen Lynch recently disclosed that a congressional investigation discovered that at least 72 employees at the Department of Homeland Security are on the terrorist watch list,
The Washington Free Beacon reports.
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