Posted on 02/04/2003 6:32:45 PM PST by Inspector Harry Callahan
Chief William J. Bratton
Los Angeles Police Department
150 North Los Angeles Street
Re: LAPD 82A Rifle, Serial No. 11**
Dear Chief Bratton,
I, a U.S. citizen, own Barrett Firearms Mfg. Inc., and for 20 years I have built .50 caliber rifles for my fellow citizens, for their Law Enforcement departments and for their nation's armed forces.
You may be aware of the latest negative misinformation campaign from a Washington based anti-gun group, the Violence Policy Center. The VPC has, for three or so years, been unsuccessful in Washington, D.C. trying to demonize and ban a new subclass of firearms, the .50 caliber and other "too powerful" rifles. This type of nibbling process has been historically successful in civilian disarmament of other nations governed by totalitarian and other regimes less tolerant of individual rights than the United States .
The VPC's most recent efforts directs this misinformation campaign at your state, attempting to get any California body to pass any law against .50 caliber firearms. In March 2002 the VPC caused the California State Assembly, Public Safety Committee to consider and reject the issue by a 5 to 0 with 1 abstaining vote.
Regrettably, the same material has been presented to your city council. I personally attended the council meeting in Los Angeles regarding attempts to bar ownership of the .50 caliber rifle in your city. I was allowed to briefly address the council. The tone of the discussion was mostly emotionally based, so the facts that I attempted to provide were ineffective to the extent they were heard at all. The council voted to have the city attorney draft an ordinance to ban the .50, and further, to instruct the city's representatives in Sacramento and in Washington D.C. to push for bans at their respective levels.
At that council meeting, I was very surprised to see an LAPD officer seated front and center with a Barrett 82A1 .50 cal rifle. It was the centerpiece of the discussion. As you know, there have been no crimes committed with these rifles, and most importantly, current California law does not allow the sale of the M82AI in the state because of its detachable magazine and features that make it an "assault weapon." This rifle was being deceptively used by your department. The officer portrayed it as a sample of a currently available .50 cal rifle, available for sale to the civilians of Los Angeles. One councilman even questioned how this rifle was available under current laws, but as I stated, facts were ineffective that day.
Your officer, speaking for the LAPD, endorsed the banning of this rifle and its ammunition. Then he used the rifle for photo ops with the Councilmen each of whom, in handling the firearm, may have been committing a felony. I was amazed.
Since 1968, with the closing of the U.S. Springfield Amory, all of the small arms produced for the various government agencies are from the private sector. Every handgun, rifle or shotgun that law enforcement needs comes from this firearms industry. Unless the City of Los Angeles has plans of setting up its own firearms manufacturing, it may need to guard the manufacturing sources it has now.
When I returned to my office from Los Angeles, I found an example of our need for mutual cooperation. Your department had sent one of your 82A1 rifles in to us for service. All of my knowledge in the use of my rifle in the field of law enforcement had been turned upside down by witnessing how your department used yours. Not to protect and serve, but for deception, photo opportunities, and to further an ill-conceived effort that may result in the use of LA taxpayer monies to wage losing political battles in Washington against civil liberties regarding gun ownership.
Please excuse my slow response on the repair service of the rifle. I am battling to what service I am repairing the rifle for. I will not sell, nor service, my rifles to those seeking to infringe upon the Constitution and the crystal clear rights it affords individuals to own firearms.
I implore you to investigate the facts of the .50, to consider the liberties of the law-abiding people and our mutual coexistence, and to change your department's position on this issue.
Sincerely,
BARRETT FIREARMS MANUFACTURING, INC.
Ronnie Barrett
President
Love the Cartman wav BTW :o)
Stay Safe !!
I carried a Barrett 82A1 as part of my EOD tool kit while active duty and now have one for my own. Confidence is high for arrogant Coyotes who think 1300 meter standoff is "safe"....... Albeit my personal best with Black Hills ball is just shy of 1150 on a yote here in the Panhandle. We used the raufaus rounds in EOD work versus ball most of the time....... Very effective. This new "caliber" will be one kewl tewl for EOD and snipers alike.
Bravo ! Stay Safe !
The use of that muzzle break might on a boly action rifle might get the felt recoil almost on par with a .22cal rimfire. I will be curious as to how the reliablity holds up with those multiple recoil buffer springs in teh upper reciever but conversion kits for an existing Barrett M82A1 seem like a good idea. Besides a coversion kit is not a new firearm as the reciever is already legal in most states, not CT but nothing says I can not have one in some different state provided I legally aquired it.
I am at this point wondering where one could get ammunition for it.
As you state .....one hell of a shark gun !
Hey Patton wheres that old gomers with no future job list you have hid ? Harp and I need some cover for this new toy !
Stay Safe !
Well, the next Mrs. Weaver may be holding a baby behind a cinder block wall.
LEOs need to be ready for any contingency.
Couldn't have said it better myself. War is coming.
And this is what it might look like, as the outer fringes of the storm arrive.
Also been lusting for a Unertl USMC 10X that a company (that owns MMC sights and IWI H3 sights) bought and is selling "NEW" with civie serial numbers. 2500 $ a copy out the door... eliptical mil dots yada yada yak yak ayk....
I have to save my duckets for that but I'll have one I can take to the range in daylight soon.
Stay Safe !!!
Whatever he is trying to say I don't understand.
Good intentions is no excuse for bad writing.
--Boris
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