Posted on 02/09/2005 4:40:27 AM PST by pop-aye
(CNSNews.com) - U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy implied Tuesday that congressional colleagues who do not share his support for a failed gun ban being reintroduced in the House are mentally ill. The Rhode Island Democrat also accused lawmakers who oppose the anti-gun legislation of not caring about police safety.
Kennedy is the son of U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) and the nephew of the late President John F. Kennedy and U.S. Sen. Robert Kennedy, both of whom were shot to death.
The younger Kennedy made the comments at a Capitol Hill press conference to promote the reintroduction of the "50 Caliber Sniper Rifle Reduction Act." The bill, introduced by U.S. Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), would ban the manufacture of such rifles and severely limit the sale or transfer of existing .50 BMG rifles except for those owned by the military or civilian law enforcement agencies.
"Any policy maker who, on the one hand, says that they are for combating terrorism but, on the other hand, will not back this legislation, backed by Representative Moran, to me has a lot of explaining to do," Kennedy said "In fact, I think it would be the definition of insanity to say that."
In addition to challenging his opponents' mental stability, Kennedy also questioned whether his fellow lawmakers could claim to support police while opposing the gun ban.
"If we don't pass this legislation, this Congress, implicitly, is saying that they do not care about the welfare of our law enforcement community," Kennedy said.
John Burtt - chairman of the Fifty Caliber Institute, the education and advocacy arm of the Fifty Caliber Shooters Association - told Cybercast News Service that Moran, Kennedy and their colleagues are trying to create "backdoor legislation to ban all firearms in this country.
"What they're doing is using hyperbole to create anxiety on the part of the uninformed public that these guns are dangerous, that they are a threat to national security," Burtt said, "but they are not."
Burtt said there has not been a single instance of terrorists using the .50 BMG in an attack on U.S. soil. A handout provided to the media at Moran's press conference listed 12 instances in which a .50 caliber rifle was used, threatened or intended for use in a criminal act. But Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, reviewed the list and questioned the nature of the examples.
"It's usually people who were prohibited from owning any kind of firearm to begin with and, as a result, should have been prohibited from owning a .50 caliber already," Gottlieb said. "There's no need to have a new law. They ought to just enforce the existing laws."
Moran believes, however, that there is no legitimate reason for civilians to own the rifles.
"It serves no purpose for hunting, whatsoever," Moran claimed. "If you went hunting with this, you would not have any trophy. All you'd have left would be some pieces of fur and hoof."
Burtt refuted Moran's assertion.
"I know a lot of people who hunt with the .50 BMG," Burtt said, noting that many people pursue elk, bear and other large game animals with the rifles. "When a .50 caliber round hits a large animal like that, it has tremendous knock-down power. But, it does nothing more than put a half-inch hole into the animal and knock it down.
"This is just somebody who, obviously, has no knowledge, whatsoever, about the hunting capabilities of these firearms making statements that are completely inaccurate," Burtt added.
U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.), whose husband was murdered and son wounded by a gunman on a Long Island commuter train in 1993, contributed to Moran's "no legitimate use" argument.
"This has nothing to do with the Second Amendment. This has nothing to do with taking away the right of someone to have a gun to protect themselves [sic]," McCarthy said.
Gottlieb disagreed.
"As far as Carolyn McCarthy is concerned, the Second Amendment doesn't protect any firearm," Gottlieb said. "If she had her wishes, she'd classify every firearm under a foot long as a 'Saturday Night Special,' and ban it, and characterize every gun over a foot long as an 'assault weapon,' and ban it also."
McCarthy and her anti-gun colleagues are using a "divide and conquer" strategy, according to Gottlieb, to disarm law-abiding Americans.
"If you pick on one type of gun at a time and say, 'the Second Amendment doesn't protect it,' most gun owners who don't own that kind of gun won't get upset and she might get her legislation passed," Gottlieb explained. "Then, lo and behold, she'll come back for another gun the next time and another gun the next time until there are no guns left."
McCarthy's comments seemed to support Gottlieb's assessment as she attempted to further demonize the .50 caliber.
"Look at this thing," McCarthy urged. "Do you want this in your home? Do you want your children to play with this?"
Burtt said McCarthy's comment betrays her ignorance of firearms and their safe handling.
"I don't want any children 'playing' with firearms, and they shouldn't even be touching them without the supervision of an adult," Burtt said. "I can't believe a representative of our Congress would make a statement like that."
Gottlieb, however, said he was not surprised by McCarthy's comments.
"Nobody said that the opponents of gun ownership are intellectually honest," Gottlieb said. "As far as these members of Congress are concerned, there's no such thing as a good gun."
Bloated, fat, alcoholic Teddy is Patrick's father, not his uncle.
It's okay guys... thanks to idiots like these clowns in Congress, the sales of .50 BMG rifles is through the roof. There is a six month waiting list at McMillan and a longer one at Barrett due to the demand as of late.
Thanks to them, the proliferation of .50 BMG rifles has gone from 30,000 or so to well over 100,000 in less than two years.
Mike
So how many people have been killed by .50 cal rifles? How many people have been killed by knives and other edged weapons? How about blunt objects? Fists? Stranglings?
Not only is his dad a Drunken idiot the apple did not fall from the tree.
A majority of Americans think that Patrick Kennedy is a threat to our Constitution.
Swimming pools in the yard are more dangerous than guns in the home for children.
With the cost of the rifle I don't believe that there are many out there...
...she said, as the cameras panned in on ted kennedy. Coincidence??
Another belch from the Kennedy lunatic society!
I guess they should also ban golf clubs and footballs in the case of the Kennedys (or at least using the same lack of logic).
Six month waiting list! I got a squirrel problem in my backyard! Da*n, I guess I'll have to settle for my .338 Win Mag.
If one of them guys gets through my 4 round barrage and mawls me, I going to sue my neighbor Patrick ...
ED
PS: Are we talking about the new 50 cal magnum hunting revolver that came out a while ago ?
Senator Teddy seems to have restricted himself to legal libations, however.
Kennedys are mentally ill...
Those who openly oppose our constitution are traitors and those who vote for traitors are insane.
Hey Ed,
No, not the .50 Magnum. We are talking about the .50 BMG centerfire rifles available from McMillan, Barrett, Serbu, Armalite, etc.
Mike
I relinquish the balance of my time on this thread to all FREEpers posting.
IIRC a .50 cal rifle was used in one murder in the last several decades. Perhaps Kennedy's causes of death list is printed backwards, having a .50 cal rifle listed just above death by infections from paper cuts.
Driving or flying near a body of water with the Kennedy's is insanity..
And cars driven by the drunk teddy, BLIMP MAN, kennedy.
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