Lawmakers Urge FTC to Probe Sniper Weapon Sales

Reuters ^ | October 10, 2002

[John Jorsett]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Several Democratic lawmakers on Thursday urged the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the marketing of military sniper rifles to civilians, noting that such a weapon may be involved in the recent Washington area shootings.

Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, the top Democrat on the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee (news - web sites), and three fellow House Democrats wrote in a letter to the FTC that sniper weapons are different from standard hunting rifles because they are designed to strike a target from a distance.

"Their accuracy and range capabilities make these weapons among the most dangerous available today," the lawmakers said. "They can hit targets accurately one mile away and can inflict damage to targets up to four miles away."

Conyers noted that the FTC did a study of entertainment industry marketing practices and violence after the Columbine school shootings in 1999.

Gun control advocates gained momentum in Congress immediately after several publicized shootings in U.S. schools but foes of new controls were able to defeat the initiatives

[GovernmentShrinker]

Some of them, yes. But I think others are clueless themselves, and just believing and repeating what the true conspirators told them.

[Pat Bateman]

[Pat Bateman]

Absurdidity...

[FormerLurker]

Absurdidity...

What is absurd, that a .50 caliber firing armor piercing ammo can punch a hole in a manhole cover? Psst. That's what they're designed to do, although the targets would be armored personnel carriers and bunkers.

[RLK]

Speaking of which, has Horiuchi surfaced anywhere of late? Does anybody know where he might be now? We know when he was in at Ruby Ridge in Idaho and near Waco Texas, but I don't think we know where he is today, even in general terms.

-----------

The last I heard he was an FBI instructor and Quantico.

[sneakypete]

Yes, we all know that your "standard hunting rifle" is only good out to about fifteen feet.

That's true. It's the reason why they won't let you have bayonet lugs on these "Saturday Afternoon Specials". Wouldn't be sporting if you could just fix bayonets and charge the deer.

[sneakypete]

And they arent being used in these "sniper" killings either.

Don't worry. A 50 Cal WILL be used in the next killings. These are geared towards making sure the so-called "Assault Weapons Ban" is made permanent,instead of "Sun Setting".

[sneakypete]

What kind of sniper and assault weapons were used against innocent American citizens at Waco and Ruby Ridge? Has there been any call to investigate that?

There was no need to investigate those weapons. They were being utilized by professional,trained,and experienced LEO's,and EVERYBODY knows they are the only ones responsible enough to be allowed possession of weapons like that.

[aj1]

How about a Thompson Contender? Deadly accurate and easily concealed. Scope easily attached.

Seems like you could easily sew a pocket inside baggy pants and put the gun in it for conceilment when walking.

[jrp]

I don't mean to nit pick, but that's a Thompson/Center Encore. It has a beefier frame than the Contender in order to handle more powerful cartridges. :-)

I have one of each. They are very versatile firearms. Each can be set up as either a pistol or a carbine by using the appropriate barrel and stock. Barrels are available in a multitude of calibers.

[Atlas Sneezed]

What do you think of a 300 Rem Ultra Mag? A friend tells me I need a rifle in this caliber.

[Atlas Sneezed]

"The part that bothers me is this myth:
"There is no legitimate purpose for a military rifle than to make war," Conyers said. "There is no reason these rifles should be marketed to civilians."
"The reason we have the second amendment is that a bunch of civilians (colonists) were being attacked by their government (British). They had arms, formed a militia, fought back, and maintained their freedom. In order to maintain a free nation, the civilian population must be able to *literally* fight against tyranny of the government, with weapons, if necessary."

Precisely. The point of having a rifle is to kill tyrants in their limousines.

PS: Buy black tipped armor piercing ammo while you can.


89 posted on 10/10/02 4:58 PM Pacific by Anchoragite

[TC Rider]

I don't mean to nit pick, but that's a Thompson/Center Encore. It has a beefier frame than the Contender in order to handle more powerful cartridges. :-)

Thanks for the correction. I was using the term in the 'generic' sense. I am by no means an expert on these particular arms, but am peripherally aware of their capabilities as a target piston/varmint eliminator.

There's a dearth of good images on their site and I borrowed what I found.

It did strike me that some of their models would be more than up to the job being done in the DC area, especially if the sniper is in the 100-150 yard range as reported.

Would you have a good feel for what would be the max effective range?

I have not seen these proposed by Moose as a potential weapon of the sniper and think they might be shortsighted for not informing the masses.

Of course, this would not serve the purpose of the Bradys if the weapon is a target pistol. But, then again, they are equal opportunity demonizers.

[RetiredNavy]

These are probably "varmint" bullets, very thin jacket, hollow-point, designed to fragment explosively (not explode) after penetrating 1-2 inches of tissue. This results in small pieces of jacket magerial and lead as has been previously described. This increases the size of the wound channel (both permenant and temporary) and thus tissue destruction. They don't penetrate very well tho and have been known to create large craters on the side of the animal hit without pentrating to a vital organ. Real messy business.

[CDHart]

I am so sick of these idiot congress-critters. They're a waste of our time and our money.

Carolyn