Posted on 02/13/2005 5:08:50 PM PST by Dan from Michigan
VPC Joins Representatives Moran, Kennedy, McCarthy, and Waxman in Calling for Federal Ban on 50 Caliber Anti-armor Sniper Rifles
Washington, DC—The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today joined Representatives Jim Moran (D-VA), Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), and Henry Waxman (D-CA) at a Capitol Hill press conference in support of federal legislation sponsored by Rep. Moran to ban 50 caliber anti-armor sniper rifles. Fifty caliber anti-armor sniper rifles can penetrate armor plating, pierce rail cars carrying toxic chemicals, and destroy aircraft. An ArmaLite AR-50 sniper rifle was displayed at the press conference.
Currently being used by U.S. troops in Iraq, 50 caliber anti-armor sniper rifles are accurate at distances of more than a mile, yet under federal law are sold in the United States with fewer restrictions than a standard handgun. Recognizing the terror threat posed by these military rifles, in September 2004, California became the first state in the nation to ban them.
Tom Diaz, VPC senior policy analyst and author of numerous VPC studies on the threat posed by 50 caliber sniper rifles, states, "These weapons of war are ideal tools for terrorism. They can take out light armored vehicles, are capable of turning commercial jetliners into bombs on the ground, and of knocking helicopters out of the air. They are capable of igniting railcars and stationary tank farms containing extremely hazardous, volatile, and explosive chemicals. And yet, under federal law and the law of the vast majority of states, 50 caliber anti-armor sniper rifles are as easy to buy legally as a standard hunting rifle and easier to buy legally than handguns."
The VPC first identified the threat posed by 50 caliber sniper rifles in its landmark 2001 study Voting From the Rooftops: How the Gun Industry Armed Osama bin Laden, Other Foreign and Domestic Terrorists, and Common Criminals With 50 Caliber Sniper Rifles. Subsequent VPC studies have exposed the environmental safety threats presented by these guns' ability to penetrate from a distance bulk fuel and chemical tanks, as well as their ability to destroy commercial aircraft.
What a crew!!!!!
I've said it before, I'll it again: What are thee hack politicians afraid of?
And the D's after each of these names stands for what? (Kinda rhetorical)....
Ah yes, and don't forget, when the citizens are so PO'd that they wish to overthrow the tyrrany of the government, they will not have these weapons by which they can use to help the cause.
From what I've seen of Ted Kennedy's size over the past few years, I don't think the .50 could bring him down. Of course, just shooting the drink out of his hand would probably stop him, though.
So, "anti-armor sniper rifles" are the new buzzword, used no less than five times in this short piece. Expect to see the term given national, top-story billing by stalwart MSM outlets like NYT, LAT, Reuters, etc, tomorrow.
I've said it before, I'll it again: What are thee hack politicians afraid of?
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They are afraid of the people having their CONSTITUTIONALLY RIGHTFUL ability to arm against a TYRANNICAL GOVERNMENT. If they keep going like they have been, with Marxist extremism as the order of the day, they will have something to worry about....by thier own making.
Why don't we also ban fertilizer.
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No, let's ban liberal Marixists. They are far more dangerous to this country and our rights as Americans, than any weapon.
** BAN DEMOCRATS **
Was a truly informative study. Goes into great detail on how the WTC and Pentagon wer hit with Barret Light 50s, the Murrah building was taken down with a glancing shot from a Barret, and how car jackings in LA with the Barret are up 300,000%.
What a rogues gallery of idiots.
If I were a Dem politician I would pay big bucks not to get my name mentioned in the same sentence with these Clymers.
Must hide my 50 cal rubber band shooter from the people who will try to keep me from protecting the nation from baaad people. sarcasm off
I know EXACTLY who I'll be voting for if I'm forced to the rooftops.
50 cal. sniper rifle used during the Revolutionary War.
I've never really had an interest in owning a .50 caliber rifle (BMG ammo). But I must say, the more eager Waxman and the liberals are to ban the rifle, the more interested I am in buying one.
Y'all will notice that no terrorist has used any of these weapons for any terrorist attack. Thye aren't talking about banning box cutters or airplanes.
Duh. Let's see you sneak a ar-50 onto an airplane.
I don't recall ever hearing of ANY crime where a 50 was the weapon of choice.
Obviously, various think tanks have debunked the VPC memo thuroughly. As usual, basic street smarts is good enough to rebut much of what was written in that article.
I just love their idea that a terrorist is going to travel halfway around the world to pay top dollar for a gun that costs over two bucks a shot to fire when he could go down to his local bazaar in his own land and get more potent weapons for a fraction of the cost.
Incidentally, am I the only one that noticed that not a single gun was employed on 9/11?
What is so special about the .50 anyway? Like I've said a million times before, the guns in question are far too large, heavy, and expensive to ever pose a serious threat. But, of course, that's not the issue. Just like prohibition, gun control is really about getting other people under your thumb to boost a failed ego. The mere fact that this kind of pap has to be used to boost the agenda shows the intellectual vacuum in which the arguments exist.
Maybe if people spent less time snoping on and worrying about their neighbors all the time, they would fix their own flaws and let the country move forward. Just my $0.02.
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