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Connecticut -- Lawmakers seek high-power rifle ban in wake of attacks
MSNBC ^ | 25 Oct 2001 | Associated Press

Posted on 10/25/2001 6:37:55 AM PDT by WindMinstrel

HARTFORD, Oct. 25 - Two top Democrats in the state Legislature are citing the threat of terrorism in reviving their push for a controversial new gun control law.

State Rep. Michael Lawlor (D-East Haven), co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and Senate Majority Leader George Jepsen (D-Stamford), on Wednesday called on state lawmakers to ban or strictly regulate long-range .50-caliber rifles in the state. They point to a report that says those weapons are a favorite of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network and other terrorist groups.

"In light of September 11th, we're going to be looking at ways to minimize the risk of domestic terrorism," said Jepsen, considered a top contender to be the Democrats nominee for governor. Part of that is "taking a hard look at which weapons are inherently dangerous. Certainly, .50-caliber guns would seem to fit on that list."

Robert Crook, a lobbyist for the Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen, accused the two lawmakers of political posturing during a time of heightened public anxiety. "If you're going to propose legislation, let's have a problem before we come up with a solution," Crook said. "There is no problem. We don't have criminals lugging around 35-pound guns."

The two lawmakers were forced to drop a similar proposal during the last legislative session to forge a compromise on other gun-control measures.

Lawlor, who noted that no state has banned the .50-caliber weapons, said he favors legislation that would require, at a minimum, that people who purchase those weapons pass criminal background checks and register the guns. Rifles are regulated more loosely than either handguns or machine guns; they don't have to be reported to the state, and in many cases, no background check is required, he said.

Lawlor and Jepsen said the .50-caliber weapons are powerful enough to knock down helicopters and airplanes.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
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Of course they're trying to ban these weapons -- every day Connecticut citizens are killed with them, right? Not to mention all the helicopters and airplanes that are shot out of the sky. Hell, on my way to work this morning planes were falling like rain from the hail of .50 cal bullets.
1 posted on 10/25/2001 6:37:55 AM PDT by WindMinstrel
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To: WindMinstrel
How logical. Just when our nation is under attack, a perfect time to make us even MORE defenseless. These people are evil.
2 posted on 10/25/2001 6:43:05 AM PDT by EggsAckley
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To: WindMinstrel; snopercod; joanie-f
Knitting needles, banned.

Finger nail files, banned.

VHS boxes with images of guns on the cover, banned.

The book, "To Hell and Back," by Audie Murphy, banned.

U.S. Flag, banned.

Zero Tolerance, OK'd by Ministry of State Security and the National Education Assc.

3 posted on 10/25/2001 6:43:16 AM PDT by First_Salute
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To: WindMinstrel
Turning on guns instead of terrorists, denigrating their dependence on the militia for their protection and embracing Arafat instead, Ah! Either they are for or against the terrorists. This piece of legislation tells otherwise.
4 posted on 10/25/2001 6:54:00 AM PDT by lavaroise
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To: WindMinstrel
What a bunch of f*cking idiots! I'll bet they believe a Barrett rifle is a concealable firearm, too.
5 posted on 10/25/2001 6:58:30 AM PDT by wjcsux
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To: EggsAckley
Evil indeed...There seem to be quite a few people in our government who look on the deaths of 6000 as a golden opportunity for pushing their antifreedom agenda.
6 posted on 10/25/2001 7:02:11 AM PDT by kaylar
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To: *bang_list
Bang!
7 posted on 10/25/2001 7:02:40 AM PDT by Constitution Day
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To: WindMinstrel
A ban on box cutters would be a much more logical response to 9/11.
8 posted on 10/25/2001 7:22:58 AM PDT by Leaning towards Libertarian
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To: WindMinstrel
Oh yea, this would have prevented the 9-11 and the anthrax attacks. You bet.
9 posted on 10/25/2001 7:37:28 AM PDT by hsszionist
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To: WindMinstrel
Michael Lawlor and george jepsen are among the most vile and disgusting pieces of slime on earth. They would sacrifice uncountable American lives to get their agenda enacted.

Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown

10 posted on 10/25/2001 7:44:13 AM PDT by harpseal
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To: WindMinstrel
State Rep. Michael Lawlor (D-East Haven), co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and Senate Majority Leader George Jepsen (D-Stamford), on Wednesday called on state lawmakers to ban or strictly regulate long-range .50-caliber rifles in the state. They point to a report that says those weapons are a favorite of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network and other terrorist groups. And they know this how?? Did they just get off the phone with Osama??? Paging Tom Ridge!!!!
11 posted on 10/25/2001 7:50:28 AM PDT by All-American Medic
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To: WindMinstrel
This cracks me up! Guns are "inherently dangerous." These people must have farts for brains!
12 posted on 10/25/2001 7:54:40 AM PDT by Sunshine Sister
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To: First_Salute
Knitting needles, banned.

Now, now...there was a perfectly good explanation for that ban...they were afraid someone would knit an Afghan....

13 posted on 10/25/2001 8:08:34 AM PDT by ravingnutter
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To: ravingnutter
You know what ticks me off? I just wrote to my state representatives and senator about this bill. However, they're all Democrats. Living in this state means I have virtually no representation in government other than the governor himself. Feh
14 posted on 10/25/2001 9:23:25 AM PDT by WindMinstrel
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15 posted on 10/25/2001 11:27:35 AM PDT by Free the USA
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To: Free the USA
They point to a report that says those weapons are a favorite of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network and other terrorist groups.


LOL! This sure rings a bell. During the "assault rifle"
furor, how often did we hear the phrase "favorite
weapon of gangs and drug dealers". Of course, the
statistics totally disprove this, but that never
stops the gun grabbers from spewing their lies

16 posted on 10/25/2001 12:19:02 PM PDT by jrp
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To: WindMinstrel
Post Emerson, I don't think such a ban would be legal. As I read Emerson (and Miller), we have a RIGHT to keep and bear the kind of arms used in civilized warfare. The 50 cal rifle is used as a sniper rifle by U.S. Forces; hence, it is a weapon of the type the 2nd Amendment is intended to protect....
17 posted on 10/25/2001 1:34:05 PM PDT by sailor4321
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To: sailor4321
I know that and you know that, but that doesn't keep the crazed socialists in the CT legislature from trying to pass crap like that. Bah.
18 posted on 10/25/2001 1:46:26 PM PDT by WindMinstrel
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To: wjcsux
The "Birdman" weapons system site www.birdman.org seems to be down, but some of the text is still available in the Google cache:

http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:iRhhfVnMYfM:www.birdman.org/products/Nuke50.htm&hl=en

"Unfriendly Products for an Unfriendly World"

BWS, Inc. has drawn upon the modern day, virtually untapped knowledge base of post cold war MicroNuclear physics and today's desire for a compact blast-packing cartridge . World renowned Ex-Soviet MicroNuclear physicist "Borris" has recently joined our engineering team to bring the world yet ANOTHER hi-tech BWS product. The perfect addition to you JADED.50 Rilfe kit ...It's the Nuke50 MicroNuclear .50 BMG Round! (with additional "Concealed Carry" Nuke50 Delivery System also available.

"Sure, it's all fun and games ...until someone loses a major metropolitan city."

What is the Delivery System?

It happens time and time again. You fire off a M1 incendiary, API round or even the much ballyhooed Raufoss .50 BMG round only to be left completely disappointed in the lack of true "Hollywood" blast effects. Many times you just get a poof of smoke ...or don't get anything at all! BWS, Inc has taken a dramatic leap forward in small arms ammunition technology with the advent of the world's first MicroNuclear .50 BMG projectile. Behold, the "Nuke50" MicroNuclear .50 BMG round!

Most of you have already heard all of the stories about how the U.S. military used depleted Uranium as the substrate material for the projectiles lobbed at the Iraqis during "Desert Storm". Now there are all of these quasi-radioactive chunks of metal messing up all of that pretty desert scenery ...not to mention the 500 year half-life that many generations must face. Birdman Weapons Systems, Inc. realized the potential of these heavy metal projectiles in combination with today's modern Celeron/Pentium microcircuitry achievements. We combined these two hi-tech advancements in technology to bring you a mind bending MicroNuclear blast in a tiny, convenient and affordable package. The blast factor of just one single Nuke50 projectile is equivalent to 1,200 pounds of TNT! That's SERIOUS firepower folks! Not only that, you don't have any chunks of Uranium laying around for someone else to have to clean up!

Prototype Nuke50 testings (as seen in the video clips) yielded even greater results but were deemed extremely unstable and far too dangerous for the moderately "close range" action found in the Nuke50 Delivery System..

What is the "Nuke50 Delivery System?"

The Nuke50 Delivery System is a masterfully designed custom pistol chambered to fire any standard NATO .50 BMG ammunition. The pistol is outfitted with a custom proprietary "BWS Imaging System" for extreme long distance target acquisition with a hand gun. The "complete" Nuke50 Delivery systems includes a specially designed "Concealed Carry Case" and a tactical chemical/radiation suit (also seen in the video clips). Although it is not really necessary to have the entire system, it is strongly recommended for persons not properly trained or experienced in current MicroNuclear architectures and related capabilities.

19 posted on 10/25/2001 2:02:52 PM PDT by Fixit
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Contact Info:

Michael Lawlor
Serving the 99th Assembly District
Legislative Office Building, Room 2500
Hartford, CT 06106-1591
(860) 240-0530
1-800-842-8267
MLawlor99@juno.com

Senator George C. Jepsen, 27th District
Majority Leader
Room 3300, Legislative Office Bldg.,
Htfd., CT 06106
Email: Jepsen@senatedems.state.ct.us
Executive Aide: Kevin Graff, (860) 240-0375 or 1-800-842-1420
Legislative Aide: Katie Zito, (860) 240-8620 or 1-800-842-1420

20 posted on 10/25/2001 3:20:00 PM PDT by 2nd amendment mama
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