No officer, this isn't a .50 caliber.
Posted on 09/11/2002 6:48:26 AM PDT by boris
Los Angeles City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas on Tuesday introduced a motion to ban the sale of .50-caliber sniper rifles in Los Angeles.
The proposal, which will be considered by the council next week, has the support of six other council members.
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The .50 BMG rifle was developed by avid long-range rifle shooters, using surplus military ammo. It began as a *sporting* firearm, which was noticed by the military and adopted for counter-sniper use in the wide-open desert terrain of the (last) Gulf War. In that regard, it's a lot like the Winchester and Remington bolt-action hunting rifles which were used by snipers in Vietnam (newer variants in 7.62 NATO, A/K/A .308 Winchester, are still in use today, alongside the bigger .50 caliber).
In answer to your question, any "normal person" who WANTS one (and is prepared to deal with outrageous ammunition cost and retina-detaching recoil) should damned well be able to buy one. Like just about all other products - from box cutters to bulldozers - if it's used legally and responsibly, it's no threat to you or anyone else.
FYI, S.W.A.T. units do not use these firearms. They make do with those .308 Winchester sniper rifles that I mentioned above. The .50 BMG rifles are just too heavy and cumbersome for the police to even consider using.
Unfortunately for the gun-grabbers, the fact that the military *did* adopt these firearms for very specialized use will ensure that nobody will succeed in their attempts to outlaw them. See, now it's undeniably a "militia" weapon. I refer you to U.S. vs Miller, 1939.
You are entitled to your opinions concerning various types of firearms and ammunition. My opinion is that every adult citizen should have, at minimum, a working knowledge of and basic live-fire instruction with the standard-issue military rifle used by their country's military. Much of the fear of military-type firearms is rooted in preconception and ignorance.
Just to note, I believe that is the basic fear of all hoplophobes.
I fixed your post up so it scans a little better. Spelling I can deal with, but you'll have to find the seventeen punctuation errors yourself.
What would Rush have to say about that?
I don't care what Rush, you or any other liberal has to say about anything.
Carry on.
Condescension.
I'll be back.
Followed by a threat.
Are you nuts? They're great for home defense. I keep one loaded, leaning against the nightstand and another one loaded by the front door.
But don't worry, I only use Glaser Safety hollowpoints
No officer, this isn't a .50 caliber.
Here's the real thing:
See the BFG-50 at serbu.com
Good hunting rifles are sub-MOA and therefore are good sniper rifles. Why shouldn't law abiding citizens have accurate rifles? That's all a "sniper" rifle is.
as do automatic types
Auto just turns money into noise. Spray and pray isn't a very effective way of killing people. A fear of auto is typical of the ill informed.
and armor piercing bullets.
Most hunting cartridges will pierce body armor. The purpose of the 2nd Amendment is to limit government power. If we keep passing laws against AP and so-called assault weapons Americans of the future will be essentially be unarmed relative to the government's forces.
What is it that you have planned for us that is so horrible we must first be disarmed. Why do you wish to render law abiding Americans defenseless?
Recommended reading:
But it's a darn good way to keep the other guys' heads down while your sniper gets into position.
The military has had full auto weapons for a long time because they see a need for that ability. Against a soft target like a truck, one simply holds the trigger down until you get a secondary explosion and then shift to the next target.
I've always refered to the sound of my 12 gauge slide being racked as the second most frightening sound in the world. The first being auto weapons fire.
Auto weapons are both area denial weapons and psycological weapons. The aren't as efficient as a good shooter with an accurate non-auto weapon, but they have their place.
One more time. The 2nd Amendment isn't about hunting deer, or rabbits or turkeys.
It's about hunting men. Spefically military men. The purpose of the RKBA is to ensure that the people at large have the ability to remove our government if and when it comes to that.
In the modern age, the availability of highly accurate, long range weapons capable of bringing down aircraft and stopping police-grade assault vehicles is a necessity if the 2nd Amendment is to mean anything.
RKBA's secondary purpose is to ensure that this availability is well known to anyone that wishes to enforce their will on the public. It's supposed to give them pause and make them think about what might happen if the people are pushed too far.
I hope it never comes to a contest of arms against the government. I also hope that my house never burns down. I buy insurance for the latter, the RKBA is my insurance for the former
Ummm, we do the same thing to those people that we do to people that attack police with a 9mm pistol, 12ga shotgun, 6 inch knife, billy club, tree branch, big rock or a wet noodle.
We put them in jail for assault. If they kill the cop, we put them in jail for murder.
And by the way, this isn't a wish, it's every citizen's right under the Constitution. Some poor misguided people have passed some unconstitutional laws to restrict honest citizens of their right to protect themselves from the government. Those people should be worried. The 2nd Amendment was drafted with people like them in mind.
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