50 cal. Rifle and Ammunition Ban in Calif.

WorldNetDaily.com | 4/02/02 | Jon Dougherty

[JDoutrider]

By Jon Dougherty © 2002 WorldNetDaily.com

A committee of the California Assembly is set to consider a bill that would outlaw the sale and ownership of .50-caliber rifles in the state.

The measure, known as A.B. 2222, was introduced Feb. 28. Sponsored by Assemblyman Paul Koretz, D-Hollywood, chairman of the Assembly's Select Committee on Gun Violence, the bill would also outlaw "small-arms armor-piercing ammunition."

"Existing law requires, except as specified, for the destruction, as a nuisance, of a machine gun possessed in violation of law. This bill would similarly require, except as specified, for the destruction, as a nuisance, of a .50-caliber sniper weapon possessed in violation of [the] law," said a summary of the bill.

The Public Safety Committee was expected to vote on the measure by today, according to information published on the state Assembly's website. But a spokeswoman from the committee told WorldNetDaily yesterday that the vote had been pushed back to April 16.

Calls to the office of the Democratic head of the committee, Assemblyman Carl Washington, went unanswered. Republican Vice Chairman Jay La Suer's office also did not return calls seeking comment. The committee was out for Easter break.

Gun-control groups have come out in support the measure.

In an analysis entitled, "Voting From the Rooftops," in which it asserts that the "gun industry armed" Osama bin Laden, the Violence Policy Center says the "entrepreneurs who powered the .50 caliber wave are already working on new designs," and proposes adding the weapons to the National Firearms Act.

"Congress should immediately amend federal law to bring .50BMG rifles under the National Firearms Act. This action would subject these weapons to the same regimen of registration, background checks and taxation to which other weapons of war, such as machine guns and destructive devices, are currently subjected," said the VPC study.

The anti-gun group also opposes any "grandfathering" of the weapons – exempting those already in circulation from the new regulations – and supports a "very short" registration period.

"America must know who besides Osama bin Laden possesses these deadly tools of assassination and terror," said the report, which claimed that Branch Davidian leader David Koresh had two of the weapons and that a Montana group called the Church Universal and Triumphant obtained 10 of them. The Irish Republican Army, said VPC, has used .50 caliber rifles to kill British troops and Irish constables.

The VPC also supports banning .50 caliber armor-piercing ammunition.

"Taken together," the group – in its report – said, "the foregoing recommendations would significantly reduce the severe and immediate threat that heavy and intermediate civilian sniper rifles pose to public safety and national security."

"Their potential for assassination is readily apparent, but they are also capable of devastating attacks on infrastructure," says an analysis by Physicians for Social Responsibility. "They have the potential to shoot down both commercial and private aircraft, helicopters and disable other transportation. A terrorist armed with a .50 caliber weapon and incendiary ammunition could attack oil or gas pipelines and storage facilities, chemical plants and other hazardous industrial facilities."

"PSR encourages Congress to regulate .50-caliber sniper rifles in the same manner as machines guns and other firearms that are regulated under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986," the group said.

Other groups say opposition to the weapons and their ammunition is politically motivated.

"The VPC argues that because .50-caliber rifles are used by the military, they should not be available to civilians. This false premise, also used against 'assault weapons,' suffers at least two flaws," says a "Fact Sheet" issued by the National Rifle Association.

"First, .50-caliber rifles used by the military were developed through the combined efforts of civilian target shooters, firearm engineers and gunsmiths," the NRA said "Second, civilians have always owned the same kinds of firearms as the military, and many firearms have been adopted by the military only after being widely adopted by hunters and target shooters."

The gun-rights organization said .50-caliber weapons "aren't used in crimes" because they are "too expensive and cumbersome for run-of-the-mill" criminals.

Other gun-rights groups said it is wrong to punish law-abiding Americans for what may or may not happen.

"If this is a good way to make laws, then we ought to ban politicians," Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, told WorldNetDaily. "We know from the past that some of them invariably become dictators, and more of them become thieves. In order to avoid that, we ought to just have no politicians."

Makers of one of the most popular .50-caliber rifles – Barrett – have defended the sale and use of the weapons. Also, the company denies it has arbitrarily sold its rifles to terrorists.

Mary Scott Smith, a spokesperson for the company, told CNSNews.com in a Nov. 12 interview that Barrett had never sold .50 caliber rifles to foreign nations not sanctioned by the U.S. State Department.

She said the U.S. government bought several .50-caliber rifles 14 years ago, then supplied the weapons to the rebel forces known as the Afghan Mujahedin for use in their fight against invading Soviet troops.

"That's all we know about it," Smith said. "It happened 14 years ago. We are busy right now to keep our U.S. military supplied with the things they need to fight this war."

She also denied that foreign and domestic "terror groups" had obtained the weapons from the company.

"We certainly did not ship any rifles to the IRA and as far as [Branch Davidian leader] David Koresh, we only sell to licensed dealers. He evidently purchased them through his dealer, and his compound had a federal firearms license. So he had them legally. We heard that those rifles were never fired," she said.

Connecticut has already banned .50-caliber armor-piercing ammunition, and there have been efforts on the federal level to ban the weapons altogether. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., has twice introduced legislation to ban the rifles, once in 1999 and once in 2001.

Pratt dismisses the effort as unnecessary.

"I'm surprised lawmakers haven't come up with this law sooner because it's become a rampant problem," he said sarcastically. "I mean, bank robberies with these things, drive by shootings … Good grief, man, haven't you seen all of these guys with these mounted on their pickup trucks?"

In a separate measure, state Sen. Don Perata, D-Oakland, has proposed a bill that would impose a five cent tax on each round of ammunition sold in the state.

Perata, an avid gun-control advocate who says he's bound to get angry responses to his proposal, claims he's not offering his bill to curb gun use. Rather, he told local TV newscasts, he says the bill would raise money to save California's hospital trauma centers, some of which are going under.

"Bullets cause injuries that are expensive to treat and generally speaking, the public is footing the bill," he said.

Local NRA members said the group would fight Perata's bill.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon said he opposes the measure. Gov. Gray Davis, the Democratic incumbent, has yet to take a position but has said he is against any new tax measures.

[ccmay]

Better to invent the .5001

No, because now you have a "destructive device" covered by the 1934 National Firearms Act, unless the Secretary of the Treasury finds it is "particularly useful for sporting purposes." Gotta keep it at .500 or less.

But there are not (yet) any restrictions on case length, case diameter, or powder charge.

-ccm

[Chewbacca]

But at .5001 would be above the legal .50 caliber allowable for civilian ownership. You most likely would have to pay $200 a year to license the firearm with the BATF.

How about necking the cartridge down to a .17/.50 wildcat cartridge? I wonder what that could do?
Somedays, I wish I had become a gunsmith.

[Benson_Carter]

the crazed character is Chucky Schumer, Senator from New York, shooting the Tech-9 machine gun he helped ban.

Nice eye protection eh? My favorite is the ear to ear grin.

here's H. Carl McCall, New York State Comptroller and Democratic Gubernatorial candidate at an IDF shooting range in Israel. After shooing a few rounds, McCall was quoted in the New York Post as saying

"Given the enourmous firepower of this and similar weapons, it is clear that our military and our allies' military must have them, but it provides further evidence that such weapons should not be readily available to citizens in America or anywhere else in the world."

[dredhawk]

.492SADC (Second Amendment Defense Caliber)???

[oldsalt]

I hunt deer with a .50 caliber rifle. Actually, a flintlock, to be more specific.

Way to go Nittany! I've got a .50 cal Hawken,percussion cap, scoped. Works real good on Florida black bear,{when you're allowed to hunt them},using a 340 grain sabot.

[dbehsman]

I think in World War 2, the Germans had an Anti Tank rifle that was a bolt action, and it fired a bullet that was 8mm (.315" caliber) in diameter, but it was something roughly like a .50 BMG necked down to an 8mm. If I remember correctly, they were shooting a bullet that weighed 220 - 250 grains at a velocity of 3900 - 4100 feet per second. I guess that it was very devistating to armor. I should look this up and confirm this.

[dbehsman]

"I hardly think someone needs a .50 cal to hunt deer....(barf)"

Given the fact that a .50 BMG has never been used in a crime in the United States and given the fact that I have spoken with a few (not very many mind you, but still a few) people who have used a .50 BMG to take a moose down in Alaska at 1000 yards, then I don't think that the .50 BMG should be banned.

Remember Jethro, these people are ALL about incrementalism! After the .50 BMG goes, then they'll go after target rifles of all calibers. Only then they'll call those rifles, "sniper rifles". All that the ANTI GUN DEMOCRATS, and a few selected RINOS want to do is divide the gun owners. Those people who are into the .50 BMG would stand with you for your right to hunt or to defend yourself, regardless of whatever firearm you use. We have to stict together, or the anti gun scum bags will try to pick us apart.

[NittanyLion]

I've got a .50 cal Hawken,percussion cap, scoped.

I love mine - black powder is my favorite season. In PA we're not allowed to use percussion caps in black powder season, hence the reason I use the flintlock (and have drawn on a deer a few times only to hear a tremendously loud CLICK when it misfires). Much more difficult than your typical 30-06, that's for sure.

[slowry]

Below from this page

The idea was to get that little .22 caliber bullet out of the barrel as fast as possible, causing more devastation on the receiving end. I had to get at least 4,400 fps out of that .220 Swift, or I wasn't happy! (This is the same time period when I decided that it would be great to neck down a .50 cal. BMG case to .22 caliber and get 5,000 fps.) And I figured that whatever was good enough for the Swift, would be good enough for all my guns. So I opened the reloading manuals, picked the fasted load for each caliber that I owned, added around 10% to it, and thought that I had the fastest guns in the west ... and I probably did. But I would totally miss my target around 40% of the time!

[harpseal]

Actually the most probable case is the military and police agencies will split if not well then I guess it will be a good day to die. No one lives forever and it is better to die as an American than live as a slave.

No one said it was going to be easy. The only easy day was yesterday.

Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown

[Blood of Tyrants]

Good idea. The NRA has a page with all the current anti-gun legislation that has been introduced. That ought to be a good place to start.

[Forgiven_Sinner]

I think in World War 2, the Germans had an Anti Tank rifle that was a bolt action, and it fired a bullet that was 8mm (.315" caliber) in diameter, but it was something roughly like a .50 BMG necked down to an 8mm. If I remember correctly, they were shooting a bullet that weighed 220 - 250 grains at a velocity of 3900 - 4100 feet per second. I guess that it was very devistating to armor. I should look this up and confirm this.

My father had a book on WWII weapons and I remember reading about this one. It's called an "anti-tank rifle" and the bore at the breach was 28mm and it went down a couple mm to the muzzle. It did hit about 4000 fps as the shot was squeezed out of the barrel.

[Squantos]

I'm sure the law will state everything 50 and larger is verboten. Thus my .54 caliber hawken blackpowder (200 year old design) elk meat provider is considered a destructive device per kalifornicator polidiots and presstitutes . This just plain sucks pond water !

Stay Safe !

[wardaddy]

Black powder is not a firearm according to Fed regs....how the state of Kali handles that is anybody's guess.

[Squantos]

Thought I'd read somewhere they were trying to change that to reflect BP as FFL purchases now ???? Yer the Liver eating Johnson specialist so I'll trust your knowledge of that issue ......... 54 caliber Bump to your post # 54 ! Werd !

Stay Safe !

[wardaddy]

I just bought one from DGW....no papers. Congress will have to change the 1968 GCA to do that....I wouldn't put it past the JBTs.

Good Night.

[pariah]

Sponsored by Assemblyman Paul Koretz, D-Hollywood

Do we really need to know any more?

[packrat01]

hmmm...

what's .54 in millimeters?

If law will state everything 50 and larger is verboten we'll have to maybe start measuring in centimeters...

[packrat01]

Somedays, I wish I had become a gunsmith. Start now...

[packrat01]

dang...