Posted on 10/25/2002 7:35:27 AM PDT by white trash redneck
An underground "sniper subculture" is brewing in the United States thanks to the aggressive marketing of so-called sniper rifles by gun manufacturers and lax gun-control regulations, according to a gun-control advocacy group.
The Violence Policy Center held a press briefing on the purported sniper subculture Thursday, only hours after police apprehended two suspects with alleged connections to the deaths of 10 people in the Washington, D.C., area. The group claims it warned of such an episode more than three years ago in its "One Shot, One Kill" report.
Tom Diaz, the group's senior policy analyst, warned that more incidents, similar to the shootings in the last three weeks, could happen unless federal and state lawmakers curb the sale of some long-guns and place new restrictions on shooting schools that teach individuals how to use firearms.
"From everything we see about the growth of books, the growth of websites, the apparent commercial success of these schools, we believe this subculture is growing," he said.
The resources available to gun owners, Diaz said, illustrate the ease with which anyone could carry out shootings similar to those in the Washington region.
"I don't know what their [snipers'] background or motivation are, but I know what they have been doing is exactly what you can learn from these books or at these schools," he said.
Police arrested John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo on federal firearms charges early Thursday morning. Authorities have not yet conclusively connected the pair to the shootings.
Joe Waldron, the executive director of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, said Diaz is using the shootings to advance his political agenda.
"This is another attempt by the Violence Policy Center to exploit tragedy and select buzz words that appeal to people's emotions," Waldron said. "In this case, they're saying it's the sniper subculture. Are there people who pay attention to those things? Yeah, but I don't believe it exists as an identifiable subculture."
But Diaz said one has to look no further than bookstores and the Internet to find evidence of the trend. While he does think it is appropriate to regulate schools that train gun owners, he shied away from any government interference with gun publications.
"I don't advocate for any restriction on the books and videos," Diaz said. "If people think it's morally a good thing to put these things out and if Amazon and Barnes & Noble are comfortable selling books that show how to shoot down helicopters and kill other human beings, then so be it."
He was not as lenient, though, when it came to what he termed "sniper schools," training centers that teach long-range shooting, located throughout the United States. While he said some limit training to police or military officers, others invite anyone seeking instruction to attend.
"Police and military snipers are well-screened," he said. "We have no bone to pick with them. They have an honorable and necessary profession, but we're concerned about the bleed-over into the civilian world."
Waldron said the facilities Diaz referred to have done a good job teaching people how to properly and appropriately use firearms. He added that training schools require background checks before any student is allowed to participate.
In addition, Diaz said the federal government should enact stricter gun-control measures. Tougher restrictions must be placed on so-called sniper rifles, such as the .50, .308, and .223 calibers, he said.
"The .50 caliber semi-automatic rifle, under federal law, is less regulated than a handgun," Diaz said. "That type of rifle ought to be brought under the National Firearms Act, a law that regulates machine guns."
Erich Pratt, spokesman for Gun Owners of America, said such a move would be unwarranted since those rifles are primarily used for hunting. He said the .50 caliber rifle is an "extremely big and bulky" firearm and he was unaware if one had ever been used to commit a crime.
According to a November 2001 Bureau of Justice Statistics report, rifles of all calibers were used in 1.3 percent of the crimes committed by felons currently serving sentences in state or federal prisons. The report did not specify the caliber of weapons used by the offenders.
Pratt echoed Waldron's concern that Diaz was merely using the recent spate of shootings to capitalize on efforts to impose greater restrictions on Second Amendment rights of citizens.
"They jump on every chance the can to demonize gun owners and firearms," Pratt said. "There have been 10 tragic murders in the last few weeks, but in that same time there have been thousands of self-defense cases [with firearms] that haven't grabbed the headlines."
I think that is because,IIRC, "pocket rocket" is the name of a vibrating sexual pleasure device for women...
How does one begin to plan for this possibility and find people and places of like attitudes BEFORE it happens ?
Mitch Albom, who has a nationwide radio show on current cultural happenings is also anti-gun. He mentioned today [it is a Saturday repeat from his regular show, which we don't get] that there are 100 Bushmaster .223s sold every day and linked Charlton Heston's muzzleloader and indicated his total disgust at the NRA and gunowners. He is implicitly blaming all rifle owners for the actions of the Beltway Sniper. They are out there.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.