Hand 'em in boys and girls they are going after em...
Posted on 05/28/2005 6:22:28 PM PDT by Flavius
A .50-caliber rifle can shoot down an airplane while it's taking off or landing, bust a hole in half-inch steel and set an oil refinery on fire, according to Andy Pelosi, executive director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence.
And an 18-year-old can buy one in New York state.
"There's no place in civilian society for this gun. This gun is a weapon of war," Pelosi said. Advertisement
Pelosi was in Syracuse Thursday as part of a statewide push to ban the .50-caliber rifle, which uses a bullet that's six inches long and can hit a target from more than a mile away, Pelosi said.
The Assembly passed legislation Tuesday that would ban the gun. A similar bill has been introduced in the Senate, but it is still in committee. California has banned the .50-caliber from civilian use.
Other states should follow California's example, said Bryan Miller of the Freedom States Alliance, a national coalition of state gun-violence groups.
"Society has a duty and a responsibility to decide what is acceptable and what is not," he said, standing behind one of the guns, which are more than 4 feet long.
The National Rifle Association and Ronnie Barrett, the gun's inventor, said those who want the ban are just pushing to take all guns away from civilians.
"This has nothing to do with terrorists. It has nothing to do with crime," he said. "It's about disarming the American public."
Barrett, president of Barrett Firearms, said the .50-caliber rifle is no more dangerous than any other rifle. And the claim that the .50-caliber can fire farther is true, but even the best marksmen would have trouble hitting a target from more than a mile away, he said.
But Pelosi offered a brochure Barrett's company used in the past to market the .50-caliber to the military. It boasts that the gun can hit a jet airplane or a helicopter in just the right spot, "making it capable of destroying multi-million dollar aircraft with a single hit delivered to a vital area."
The brochure goes on to boast that the gun's cost-effectiveness cannot be overemphasized because all it takes is one round of ammunition to bring a plane down.
Barrett did not dispute the claims, but said his company no longer uses that brochure. It's tacked on the wall of the company bathroom with other memorabilia, he said. From Our Advertiser
He said he didn't invent the gun for military use or for hunting.
"I designed it for me to shoot and play with," Barrett said. "I'm a shootist."
Assemblywoman Patricia Eddington, D-Medford, sponsored the bill that passed the Assembly this week. She said Barrett's comments are proof that there is no need for civilians to have the gun, which retails for around $7,000.
"I'm quite delighted it did pass, because this is not a hunting rifle and it should never be used for a hunting rifle. It is such a dangerous weapon," Eddington said. "You don't need a weapon like this."
She said the legislation, if approved by the Senate and governor, is a preventative step that would make New York safer.
"Why wait for a tragedy to happen?" she said. "Let's do something to prevent a tragedy from occurring. No one needs to have a .50-caliber weapon."
To read the Assembly bill, go to http:// assembly.state.ny.us/leg/ and type in A4471. To read the Senate version, go to http:// www.senate.state.ny.us/ senatehomepage.nsf/home?openform and click on "bills and laws," then type in S2590, then on the next screen click on "text."
Oh, it's good for hunting. The only problem with that is there isn't an abundance of elephants in NY state.
Hand 'em in boys and girls they are going after em...
Dude is H E A V Y~@@!!!!!
This type of weapon is much more suited to a defensive emplacement than a fire and maneuver assault.
Democrats, being unfamiliar with the concept of "defense", to say nothing of the idea of "defending America", probably have no idea what I'm talking about.
Dems and Liberals are fundamentally too stupid to pour contaminants from metal containers.
You ain't taking my Hawken away from me!
Andy Pelosi....any relation to you-know-who?
On reading the article again, I really wonder if my old 50. caliber Hawken I made from a kit in 1977 can really shoot down an airplane from a mile away. If it will do that, I wonder what the .54 caliber rifle my father-in-law has will do? It probably has some type of secret exploding projectile.
Would this mean that I can't buy a Civil War weapon, which is commonly .54 calibre?
What is the magic of .50 Calibre? Is there some magical properties of such a weapon that makes it worse than a .499 calibre?
If these weapons are soooo powerful then why are then not the standard issue weapon for soldiers around the world, instead of being relegated to special use?
Enquiring minds, et
So, as a military-only (i.e., militia) weapon, it's protected under Miller.
"Oh, it's good for hunting. The only problem with that is there isn't an abundance of elephants in NY state."
Makes a helluva impression on deer, bears, etc which are found in New York State....
Isn't it a little difficult for an 18 year old to come up with $7,000.00 without creating some kind of scrutiny by the feds?
cartridge size comparision: .50 BMG (top) and the 20x110mm Hispano (below)
And there are lunitics here in the United States that want us disarmed......just how utterly and completely crazy is that?
If Andy Pelosi et al succeed in even partially disarming American citizens...and even one American is murdered by mohammidians because of the lack of the banned firearm...I would say Andy Pelosi should suffer some consequences.....I can't say what those consequences might be, but they should be severe enough that Mr. Pelosi will never forget.
"There's no place in civilian society for Andy Pelosi."
"which uses a bullet that's six inches long...."
Damn news reporters are mostly morons. They seem to have any knowlege of anything they report on. The bullet is about 1" long. It is a half inch in diameter. The shell casing is six inches long. And it would be a un-believable lucky shot to bring down even a piper club with one round from this weapon.
Ask any soldier or Marine if I am not being truthful.
These bozos just keep rolling along in mis-information.
So a well place shot lets say from a Winchester 460 Magnum on some fuel valve at a chemical plant will probably do just as well as this 50 caliber round. Now remember anyone can walk into a gun shop and by a Winchester 460 caliber rifle.
Only thing is, with the 50 caliber rifle, it has a much longer barrel, which leads to a higher muzzle energy and a flatter bullet path, which will retain more energy at much longer distances. But this article as others, makes it sound like a 50 caliber rifle can bring down a chopper or military jet or airliner with a few shots. It is very misleading in my opinion. Of course a 50 caliber machine gun is a different story, but that is not the issue here.
Hell my grandfather use to have .79 caliber musket!You just know that thing would create a thermonuclear blast that would spread radiation 1 mile in every direction after dropping every airplane out of the sky everywhere in the state.How we avoided spinning the earth off of its axis sending it crashing into the sun during the revolutionary war I will never figure out.
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Pelosi was in Syracuse Thursday as part of a statewide push to ban the .50-caliber rifle, which uses a bullet that's six inches long
MY GOD! Imagine what the cartridge must be like!!!
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