Ibrahim Kazerooni, a Denver area Imam. The Denver Post reports that in 2009 another Denver area Muslim was the subject of government surveillance for buying ingredients for hair dye and a wedding cake.

Even if you ignore his particular context, it is an important issue that the Imam is bringing up. Certain individuals are monitored by law enforcement, and so are certain other areas of life. For instance, when I buy Sudafed at Wal Mart I have to show my ID, the state monitors my purchases of it, (Oklahoma has some of the strictest laws on meth ingredients in the country) and I cannot buy more than 3 boxes of 12 hour Sudafed (or insert your decongestant of choice) a month. Yet, I can walk several yards to the sporting goods section and buy as many boxes of ammo as a I want.

I’m not sure a federal database of gun purchases would be the answer, and I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t be legal. But it seems strange that certain aspects of our lives are monitored while others, which would be potentially more dangerous, are not.