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Sniper Shootings Prompt Call for More Gun Control
CNSNews.com ^ | 10/11/02 | Jeff Johnson

Posted on 10/13/2002 9:25:52 AM PDT by TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!

Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) - If the United States had a federal law requiring so-called "ballistic fingerprinting" of every firearm in the country, could police have already caught the murderer coming to be known as the "Beltway sniper?"

That is the assertion in a message sent to supporters of the group formerly known as Handgun Control, Inc.

"As police try to track down and stop this killer, we do know this: sensible gun laws can help law enforcement solve crimes as well as prevent gun violence," wrote Sarah Brady, chairwoman of the Brady Campaign.

Brady noted that ballistic comparisons of the bullets recovered from the victims' bodies had helped authorities link several of the shootings.

"[But] we have also seen the limitations to ballistic fingerprinting laws in their current form," she continued, complaining that the laws are only in force in two states, only cover newly purchased weapons, and only apply to handguns.

"These limitations speak to a need for a national ballistics fingerprinting law for all firearms," Brady argued.

She also used the letter to begin lobbying for a continuation of the federal ban on certain types of military-looking firearms, commonly referred to by opponents of their ownership as "assault weapons," and to solicit funds for her organization.

Americans for Gun Safety (AGS), a group founded by former Handgun Control, Inc. board member Andrew McKelvey, also supports universal ballistic fingerprinting. Matt Bennett, spokesman for the group, said the idea behind the process is similar to that of fingerprinting.

"A particular set of markings [on a bullet] can be matched to all the other [ballistic records] in the system and the top five or six matches come up and then a human expert will look at them and determine if there's a real match," he explained.

AGS argues that the system is accurate even if someone intentionally tries to alter a weapon, or subjects it to heavy use.

"It can degrade slightly, but it is still recognizable," Bennett claimed. "The metaphor we're using is it's like having a scratch on a record. It does degrade the quality of the sound, but it's still a recognizable sound."

Kevin Watson, legislative director for the Law Enforcement Alliance of America (LEAA) - a coalition of current and former law enforcement officers and citizen supporters - disagrees.

"It sounds really neat when you hear just the basic description of it, but when you go into the description of how it would actually work," he said, "it kind of falls apart."

Watson said the "ballistic fingerprint" of a weapon will change over time, and can be altered intentionally.

"In a lot of firearms, you can replace the equipment that leaves these marks," he said, "and, as the firearm is used on occasion, that degrades the marks that are left and sometimes can change them."

Watson described the lack of a basis for comparing ballistic markings to human fingerprints.

"Imagine a fingerprint database where people can switch their fingerprints and their own fingerprints wear down over time after use," he added. "It makes it not that useful of a system."

Attorney Lisa Steele, who specializes in appellate criminal defense cases, agreed. She said it would be relatively easy for a ballistics examiner to make a mistake.

"A recovered bullet has been through a lot. It's gone down a gun barrel, it's been fired into something. It's chipped. It's damaged. It's fragmented," Steele explained.

She said examiners are trained to expect some of the marking on two bullets fired from the same weapon not to match. They are also told, Steele said, to expect many markings to match on two bullets fired from two different weapons of the same caliber and model.

"They're trained to do this. They observe this in the lab," she said. "What the training standards say is, eventually you develop a 'gut instinct' for which of these striation matches are important and which of them aren't."

Steele calls the phenomenon of seeing matches that don't really exist "suggestion bias," explaining that the examiners are not intentionally giving false reports, they simply "expect to confirm what they already believe."

Investigators can also bias ballistics examiners, she claimed, by sharing too much information about a case or the evidence being examined.

"You know some things won't match. You know some things will. You have to make a 'gut,' instinctive decision, and in the back of your head, somebody has given you information that it's supposed to match," Steele said. "Odds are, you're going to say it does match."

The biggest part of the problem, she added, is that unlike classifying human fingerprints, there is no objective reference standard for ballistic "signatures.

Images of human fingerprints can be laid one on top of the other and the number of points of similarity can be counted, Steele explained. In most jurisdictions, criminal judges have established the minimum number of points of similarity that they will accept to validate a fingerprint match.

"There's no such objective measure for ballistic fingerprints," she said.

Watson said another failing of ballistic fingerprints opponents of armed self-defense often ignore is the sheer number of firearms already in private hands in the United States.

"If you were just to do new firearms, that basically means that there would be 200 million firearms that would not be traceable in this system," he explained. "Any criminal would know or would learn that if they wanted to make sure their gun was not traceable in the new system, they would simple make sure they were using a gun that was made before the enactment of the system."

Watson speculated that law-abiding gun owners might not be willing to bring their weapons in for ballistic fingerprinting because of the de facto registration of gun owners such a system would create.

He also disputed Brady's claim that the so-called "assault weapons" ban - which actually banned military-looking semi-automatic firearms, not fully-automatic assault weapons - could have had any effect on the sniper's armament.

"They could be using a gun that they could lawfully purchase today in Maryland, even if the 'assault weapons' ban is in place or renewed," Watson argued. "The notion that, if we renew this ban then we'll somehow pretend to keep certain guns off the street is really kind of nonsense."

Brady's attempt to capitalize on the murders to promote her anti-Second Amendment agenda is "quite honestly shameless," Watson said, especially while police are still looking for the sniper.

"This is a group that, every time tragedy happens, they jump out and say 'We need these [gun control laws] we need these," he alleged. "It's not really all that surprising to see it happen, but it's still shameless."

The premise that a gun control law could somehow affect the behavior of a murderer is puzzling to Watson.

"It's just a nonsense comment to say that somebody is going to break the law about murder, but obey the law about which tools they can use," he said. "It's pretty obvious that people who are not influenced by laws banning murder aren't going to be too influenced by laws banning what tools of murder they can use."

Both Watson and Steele believe that, once a suspect is in custody and ballistics examiners can compare his or her weapon to the bullets and shell casings recovered at the crime scenes, authorities will be able to use that evidence to aid in obtaining a conviction.

E-mail a news tip to Jeff Johnson.

Send a Letter to the Editor about this article.


TOPICS: Activism/Chapters; Business/Economy; Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: banglist; for; guncontrol; more; promptcall; shootings; sniper
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To: alaskanfan
Truely true the commie black caucus leftist could not think his way out of a paper bag.
41 posted on 10/13/2002 1:54:17 PM PDT by TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!
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To: TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!
"Ballistic fingerprinting"=registration. Because it would have to include all 250 million-odd guns now out there to even theoretically be meaningful.

"Ballistic fingerprinting" is worthless if you clean your gun the first time with a steel brush instead of a bronze one - and similarly monkey with the extractor and firing pin.

FWIW, only three types of politicians are pushing antigun politics now: 1) desperate ones looking for a "Hail Mary" chance, 2) ones long antigun extremists, and 3) ones firmly in antigun districts. Even Hillary and Schumer are avoiding it after the 2000 election debacle antigun politics brought their party. Nobody in Red Nation is pushing it.

How skilled are Washington-area "snipers," anyway?

42 posted on 10/13/2002 2:04:14 PM PDT by glc1173@aol.com
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To: Thoro
Which is why they call it "The Peoples Republic of Maryland"
43 posted on 10/13/2002 3:11:01 PM PDT by jragan2001
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To: TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!
I don't even want to read what these anti-gun terrorists have to say. All I will say to the idea is that the subjects of The People's Republic of Maryland would be far less likely to be facing this threat if they were armed. And any such threat would be shorter lived.
44 posted on 10/13/2002 3:45:55 PM PDT by TigersEye
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To: ATOMIC_PUNK; TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!
The following were questions regarding the events of the day. Given these events, you have to wonder if the sniper attacks fit in somewhere.

So, what do we have:

1. Borders left Open
2. Amnesty Being Pushed
3. Constitutional Rights Under Attack
4. UN given control of US war policy through resolutions
5. Al Quaeda Trained at US Flight Schools and military bases.
6. Cover-ups and government abuses during Oklahoma City, Ruby Ridge, Waco, Pearl Harbor, Gulf of Tonkin
7. Tracking Devices proposed to weed out terrorists from the general population, via DARPA.
8."Free Trade" continuing to be promoted by President Bush, even though it's causing our jobs to be shipped elsewhere.
9. Pre-emptive war strategy, totally against what America is about, given hard core evidence hasn't been obtained.
10. Bush's propping up and support for the UN, WTO, as well as the EU.
11. Colored money and talks of the elimination of the dollar.
12. The Push for hemispheric government in the Americas, while the EU expands into Eastern Europe, another arm of the trilateral commission?
13. Police in ski-masks? Cameras going up?
14. Bush referring to the Mexican border as "The New Frontier".
15. Taliban and Al Quaeda members escorted out of Afghanistan as Kandihar fell?
16.Reports that Iraq is not a threat, them claiming that they'll go along with inspections, yet that's not good enough?
17. No middle easterner names on the flight lists.
18.Bio Weapons given to Iraq in the 80s.
19. CIA's "confidential" information regarding September 11.
20.US selling super computers and nuclear weapons to China and North Korea.
21.David Schippers, ex governmental employee, FBI I believe, who stated that there were talks of airliners flying into the world trade center years prior to the attack.
22.Why did building number seven collapse if it was not hit by an airline?
23. Bush insisting on full control over the "War on Terror", in which he got in a bill, of course subject to the UN at times.
24.Kyoto Protocol encoded within National Security Act
25.No call for withdrawal from the UN, despite their nightmarish talks, including euthanasia. Instead, the contrary is what is happening.
26. Radar during those tragic flights?
27. Talks about Marshall law and camps if the US is attacked by nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons.
28. Didn't the US help put Hussein in power, and didn't the US supply him with goods in the 80s to fight the Iranians?
29.Press Reports of which even the DOD doesn't appear certain that there are links between Al Quaeda and Iraq, not to mention that Iraq is developing chemical, nuclear, and biological weapons. (Possible, but do not many nations have many of these same weapons, including China which forces abortions on the populace?)
30.What about these, "This War may last a hundred years", and "an attack is imminent" or "Brace for an attack". How do they know this?
31.FBI report labeling Christians, defenders of the second amendment and Constitutionalists as domestic terrorists.

Does something look wrong with this picture?

45 posted on 10/13/2002 3:51:53 PM PDT by FreedomFriend
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To: FreedomFriend
And how Clinton DID NOTHING after United States Ship Cole was attacked.
46 posted on 10/13/2002 3:59:41 PM PDT by TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!
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To: TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!
Yada-yada-yada-yada!

SSDD!

47 posted on 10/13/2002 4:31:49 PM PDT by Redleg Duke
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To: Redleg Duke
Stand by for dasshole and dorkhart and hitlery to blabber away this rubbish.
48 posted on 10/13/2002 5:17:03 PM PDT by TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!
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To: TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!
Stand by for dasshole and dorkhart and hitlery to blabber away this rubbish.

Actually, I doubt they will. They use Handgun Control and a few lib editorial boards to send up trial ballons. I think most Americans will react with revulsion at their crappy attempts to link the NRA to the sniper. The Dems may be jerks, but they ain't stupid - they aren't about to climb aboard a political Hindenburg once they realize it has caught fire...

49 posted on 10/13/2002 5:29:41 PM PDT by dirtboy
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To: dirtboy
Friday, Oct. 11, 2002

Anti-gun Candidates Exploit Beltway Sniper

Anti-gun politicians are scrambling to benefit from the Beltway sniper.

Just one day after vowing to avoid the gun issue as long as the sniper is loose, Maryland gubernatorial nominee Kathleen Kennedy Townsend proved herself a liar by shipping a new ad to Washington TV stations that reviles her GOP opponent for voting against a ban on so-called "assault weapons."

"In the 30-second ad, which is scheduled to begin airing today, the camera pans over an array of militaristic-looking rifles, then cuts to a man pulling a handgun out of his front pocket," the Washington Post reported today.

An announcer tells viewers that Republican Robert Ehrlich Jr. "voted against banning assault weapons and cheap handguns" and received an F grade from the almighty Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

'Shameful'

"We've got a killer on the loose, we have funerals taking place, and she and her campaign have decided to put that to use for their political gain. It's shameful," Ehrlich campaign spokesman Paul Schurick told the Post.

Townsend's campaign says it rolled out the issue after left-of-center Rep. Constance Morella, R-Md., began airing a radio ad in Montgomery County in which anti-gun activist Sarah Brady hails Morella for "stand[ing] up to the gun lobby." What that has to do with the gubernatorial campaign is a mystery: Morella is not running against Townsend.

Although the Maryland suburbs' anti-firearms laws have done nothing to stop the gunman, pundits say the sniper attacks could propel the foundering Townsend into the governor's mansion in Annapolis.

Maryland's two left-wing Democrat senators, Second Amendment opponents Paul Sarbanes and Barbara Mikulski, have been milking the crisis for photo opportunities.

Another anti-gun pol, Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., wants the Federal Trade Commission to investigate and stop the sale of "military" rifles to Americans.

"There is no legitimate purpose for a military rifle than to make war," Conyers said Thursday. "There is no reason these rifles should be marketed to civilians."

And of course, the anti-Second Amendment organizations are having a feeding frenzy.

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:

DNC
Guns/Gun Control
RNC

Editor's note:
"Let Freedom Ring" - Sean Hannity reveals how to triumph over the left


50 posted on 10/13/2002 5:37:01 PM PDT by TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!
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To: All
Townsend's campaign says it rolled out the issue after left-of-center Rep. Constance Morella,

LOL Connie Morella has NO CENTER she is fully and completely LEFT!

51 posted on 10/13/2002 5:39:28 PM PDT by TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!
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To: TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!
I expect KKT to embrace this agenda. She is a state-level candidate in a state with a pronounced gun-control agenda. But national-level Dems such as Hillary! and Daschole will see which way the wind blows on this trial ballon before they climb aboard.
52 posted on 10/13/2002 5:52:56 PM PDT by dirtboy
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To: dirtboy
You are right but do they think that they get a fresh I AM MOVING TO THE CENTER SLATE? W. J. Clinton pulled this but his Hitlery won't be able to. You cannot fool all of the people all of the time. But I will still ping you when they do blabber about this, they are wretching to say something they will. Just like they no one dared dream they would ALL go public about Bush and Iraq. (They didn't even use EGore first!
53 posted on 10/13/2002 6:01:06 PM PDT by TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
Some WWII veterans are speaking out. Actually comming out of retirement to make the lecture circuit. The message is basically this: "We defeated the Nazis and came home knowing it could never happen here, I'm not so sure anymore."
54 posted on 10/13/2002 6:19:51 PM PDT by SSN558
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To: FreedomFriend
"Does something look wrong with this picture?"

There is nothing wrong with this picture. You are merely stringing together a number of FACTS. However, it is in the stating of the truth that you will become subject to the ridicule of the police/media state and labeled as a wearer of tinfoil hats. Denouncing disidents is at least as old as Stalin.

55 posted on 10/13/2002 6:28:55 PM PDT by SSN558
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To: TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!
They only want our guns because they fear us. They will not get mine. These tools are the ONLY breach between us and insidious tyranny.
56 posted on 10/13/2002 6:33:38 PM PDT by wardaddy
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To: SSN558
Less than 5 years ago on this very forum folks who started threads warning of the U.N. and the coming NWO were called nutcase tin foil hat original wearers.
57 posted on 10/13/2002 6:37:58 PM PDT by TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!
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To: SSN558
Unfortunately, you're right.
58 posted on 10/13/2002 7:25:25 PM PDT by FreedomFriend
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To: TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!
I'm opposed to any laws that ultimatly result in the creation of a database that would enable future mass-confiscation.

I see what has happened to gun rights in Europe and even Washington DC, Los Angeles and states like NY, & Maryland, and I wonder if there's any stopping it?

I don't like it---you don't like it and here we sit---is there anyway we can use our computers to launch a mass counter-campaign to all the gun grabbing crap that's hitting the fan right now?
59 posted on 10/13/2002 8:04:32 PM PDT by aeronca
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To: TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!
They only want our guns because they fear us. They will not get mine. These tools are the ONLY breach between us and insidious tyranny.
60 posted on 10/13/2002 9:15:15 PM PDT by wardaddy
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