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Contra Costa redies ban on .50 caliber rifles
Contra Costa Times ^ | August 9, 2003 | Peter Felsenfeld

Posted on 08/11/2003 12:23:22 PM PDT by Socratease

County studies, readies rifle bill By Peter Felsenfeld CONTRA COSTA TIMES

All it would take is a willing mind and a powerful explosive to turn Contra Costa's hulking oil refineries into giant chemical bombs.

In an age of terrorism and readily available weapons, neither prospect can be completely discounted.

So Contra Costa supervisors are scheduled Tuesday to take aim at a readily available gun they say presents just such a threat. The board is expected to ask county attorneys to draft an ordinance that would ban the sale of .50-caliber BMG rifles in unincorporated areas.

The measure would be based on similar legislation approved in Los Angeles this summer. Supervisors say they want Contra Costa cities to follow with similar laws.

Such steps are necessary because any person could purchase the weapon, set up on a hillside and cause some major damage to a refinery, said Supervisor John Gioia of Richmond. The gun is often fired as it rests on stand.

"These are not the kind of things that are used by street gangs, because they're so big and obvious," he said. "They're more likely to be used by bad people who are intent on causing serious harm."

Assemblyman Paul Koretz, D-West Hollywood, introduced legislation this year to curb the manufacture and sale of .50-caliber rifles statewide. His bill, AB50, stalled in the Senate Public Safety Committee last month.

The weapons generally weigh between 30 and 50 pounds, and can be bought legally in stores or online for about $5,000, said Dan Lilja, owner of Lilja Precision Rifle Barrels, which manufactures barrels for the guns.

The world's most skilled marksman can hit targets with the rifle up to 1,980 yards away, according to the Fifty Caliber Club Web site.

Supervisor Gayle Uilkema of Lafayette said the guns could fire exploding bullets through 8 inches of steel, and certainly through containers transporting hazardous materials.

"There is no way we can completely shut off access to the refineries," she said. "The gun has the capability to destroy refinery equipment."

The ordinance would probably set off a firestorm of opposition from gun advocates. Chuck Michel, spokesman for the California Rifle and Pistol Association, called Uilkema's statement "utter crap."

"There's absolutely no way it can pierce 8 inches of steel."

He said the supervisors were stoking fears of terrorism to push an anti-gun agenda and mask the rifle's legitimate sporting uses.

"These rifles are legal for a reason: they're primarily used for hunting and target shooting events," he said. "If a terrorist really wanted to destroy a refinery, he could get his hands on a rocket-propelled grenade on the black market."

(Excerpt) Read more at bayarea.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Government; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: 50bmg; anotherstupidexcerpt; banglist; doesntknowhowtopost; gunban; guncontrol; idontreadexcerpts; learnhowtopost; stopexcerptmadness; thisisntlucianne; wheresthefullarticle; whytheexcerpt
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To: AngryJawa
That is true, but only if fired at the exact moment we either go onto daylight savings time or go off daylight savings time. Fortunately for civilization, those are the only two windows of vulnerability!
21 posted on 08/11/2003 12:47:55 PM PDT by 17th Miss Regt
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To: 17th Miss Regt
No, its the normal .50 round you can get anywhere.

Why do you think it's so important we get them banned??!??! You must be one of those horrible gun nuts who believes in civilian possession of metal in any form.

22 posted on 08/11/2003 12:48:29 PM PDT by Lazamataz (PROUDLY POSTING WITHOUT READING THE ARTICLE SINCE 1999!)
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To: Socratease
"and can be bought legally in stores or online for about $5,000,"

Geez!! On Line????-Tell me how/where...NOW!

23 posted on 08/11/2003 12:49:08 PM PDT by litehaus
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To: 17th Miss Regt
Stay out of Indiana you crazy gun nut fruitcakes. We have both fast time and slow time here. I am one mile away from either.

24 posted on 08/11/2003 12:49:37 PM PDT by Bluntpoint
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To: Bluntpoint
Do you take Discover? It would be nice to get some cashback points on this baby.
25 posted on 08/11/2003 12:51:17 PM PDT by AngryJawa
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To: Bluntpoint
Call me a Mars hugger, but I don't think people need to be shooting planets when they have grocery stores on every corner.Sir, I beg to differ. Planet plinking is perfectly reasonable as long as it is done on public land and as long as the firer pays attention to who or what is behind his target (NRA, Planet Plinking Guidelines, 2001.)
26 posted on 08/11/2003 12:51:56 PM PDT by 17th Miss Regt
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To: 17th Miss Regt
The filler is not lead. It is higly enriched uranium. Upon impact the mechanical compression ignites the fission reaction and a well placed round will flatten a small town.

Seen this video clip?

27 posted on 08/11/2003 12:52:32 PM PDT by Charles Martel
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To: Blood of Tyrants
--anybody besides me note the sly piece of anti-fifty caliber propaganda in the movie "SWAT"?--or at least, I construed it as such--
28 posted on 08/11/2003 12:53:03 PM PDT by rellimpank (Stop immigration now!)
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To: Lazamataz
I have heard of entire galaxies destroyed by a single .50 caliber round.

If it'll save just one galaxy ..........

Hb

29 posted on 08/11/2003 12:53:19 PM PDT by Hoverbug (whadda ya mean, "we don't get parachutes"!?!)
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To: Blood of Tyrants
Come on, everyone knows that terrorists usually operate and purchase their tools of destruction in their own neighborhoods :O)
30 posted on 08/11/2003 12:54:45 PM PDT by in the Arena
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To: Lazamataz
Quite the contrary. I own a Saturn - no metal in that. Also, the coins in my pocket are plastic and have the motto "In Welfare We Trust" on them.
31 posted on 08/11/2003 12:56:23 PM PDT by 17th Miss Regt
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To: Bluntpoint
Call me a gun grabber but I don't think anyone should own one of these unless they can afford one.

Now that's really an assinine statement. How else you gonna get one unless you can afford it, short of stealing one (not likely considering the size and weight). Or do you expect Kalifornia to give these out with welfare checks and food stamps?

32 posted on 08/11/2003 12:56:38 PM PDT by scooter2
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To: Charles Martel
This is great!! LMAO!! Thanks!
33 posted on 08/11/2003 12:58:05 PM PDT by 17th Miss Regt
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To: 17th Miss Regt
Show me a "planet plinker" and I will show you a person that would shoot cute little puppies if there was a season for such hunting.

Whats the matter big bad "planet plinker," making up for for a deficiency somewhere else?
34 posted on 08/11/2003 1:02:23 PM PDT by Bluntpoint
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To: scooter2
You miss a lot, don't you?
35 posted on 08/11/2003 1:03:26 PM PDT by Bluntpoint
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To: *bang_list
Click the Gadsden flag for pro-gun resources!
36 posted on 08/11/2003 1:04:26 PM PDT by Joe Brower ("People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid." - Soren K.)
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To: Socratease
Contra Costa supervisors are scheduled Tuesday to take aim at a readily available gun they say presents just such a threat. The board is expected to ask county attorneys to draft an ordinance that would ban the sale of .50-caliber BMG rifles...

Excerpt form the Freedom and Firearms speech by Tom McClintoc:

There are two modern views of government that begin from entirely different premises.

There is the 18th Century American view propounded by our nation’s founders. They believed, and formed a government based upon that belief, that each of us is endowed by our creator with certain rights that cannot be alienated, and that governments are instituted to protect those rights. This view is proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence and reflected in the American Bill of Rights.

The second view is 19th Century German in origin and expressed in the philosophies of Marx and Hegel and Nietzsche. It is a restatement of philosophies of absolutism that have plagued mankind for millennia. In this view, rights come not from God, but from the state. What rights you have are there because government has given them to you, all for the greater good – defined, of course, by government.

Contra Costa supervisors are not attempting to solve a problem, they are merely doing what liberals normally do. Do something to make them FEEL good.

With the current political recall fever in CA, it is time to Recall the Contra Costa Supervisors if they ban these calibers.

Good Hunting... from Varmint Al

Varmint Al's Gun Rights & Politics Page

37 posted on 08/11/2003 1:08:20 PM PDT by Varmint Al
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To: Bluntpoint
"You miss a lot, don't you?"

Perhaps it's best that he not own a fiddy cal.

38 posted on 08/11/2003 1:08:37 PM PDT by AngryJawa
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To: Socratease
This is sad for me, I grew up in the dry grass hills of Contra Costa County (Concord) and these areas were always the more "conservative" of the Bay Area (think San Francisco). The article does not mention it, but the Concord Navel Weapons Depot is near the refineries that they are afraid will be come terrorist targets.

But it is silly to outlaw the sale of the gun, why not just make it against the law to shoot up refineries and military bases, one would think that would have the same result. (Oh wait, its already illegal to shoot refineries and military bases.)
39 posted on 08/11/2003 1:09:35 PM PDT by KC_for_Freedom
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To: 17th Miss Regt; Bluntpoint
I don't see why you macho guys would want such a weapon, I mean, if you can't bag a planet with a simple phase disruptor then you shouldn't go out hunting. There's no need to pierce 8 feet of steel, at least in my galaxy. Sheesh.
40 posted on 08/11/2003 1:12:41 PM PDT by Sender
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