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 ...
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.
Geez!! On Line????-Tell me how/where...NOW!
If it'll save just one galaxy ..........
Hb
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?
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 nations 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
Perhaps it's best that he not own a fiddy cal.
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