Brady's .50 cal page
Just saw this while searching for ammo.
"SELLING HIGH POWERED MILITARY WEAPONS IN THE SUBURBS
The Threat of .50 Caliber Armor-Piecing Sniper Rifles
In 1987, Barrett Firearms Manufacturing Inc., patented its self-described "armor-penetrating" .50 caliber BMG sniper rifle. Capable of destroying
armored personnel carriers, aircraft and bulk fuel and ammunition sites, the .50 caliber sniper rifle is now proliferating in the civilian market.
Accurate at up to 2,000 yards (20 football fields end-to-end) it can inflict effective damage to targets over four miles away. With more power on
impact then any other semi-automatic rifle legally available on the civilian market, the .50 caliber represents a serious threat to our local law
enforcement and
national security(emphasis mine)."
"Terrorist and Criminal Use of .50 Caliber Sniper Rifles
According, to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF), the .50 caliber sniper rifle has a dangerous history of criminal misuse. This can
only worsen as the weapon becomes cheaper and more readily available. BATF has linked .50 caliber BMG sniper rifles to drug dealers, international
drug cartels, militia and terrorist groups and a religious cult. Additionally, a 1999 report by the General Accounting Office, "Criminal Activity
Associated with .50 Caliber Semiautomatic Rifles," stated that of 27 traces involving the Barrett M82A1 (one of the most popular .50 caliber rifles
on the market) 18 (66%) were associated with criminal activity.[13]
As part of its investigation for the Committee on Government Reform, GAO investigators traced .50 caliber sniper rifles seized from crime suspects and
found that many of the weapons were discovered in what they described as "the scene of some extremely troubling criminal activities"[11] including
international terrorism and foreign drug cartels. GAO investigators concluded that, "the accessibility of these weapons in the United States is
becoming known worldwide."[11] The following summarizes a few cases in which .50 caliber sniper rifles have been identified.
Drug dealers in California, Missouri and Indiana were in possession of .50 caliber sniper rifles that were recovered by state police authorities using
search warrants.[13]
An international drug cartel in Mexico was discovered with a .50 caliber sniper rifle and 100 AK47s at the scene of a multiple homicide shootout. The
Los Angeles Police Department assisted Mexican authorities in tracing the .50 caliber sniper rifle to a gun dealer in Wyoming.[13]
Three members of the radical North American Militia arrested in a plot to bomb federal office buildings, destroy highways, utilities and public roads,
and assassinate the state's governor, senior U.S. Senator, federal judges and other federal officials had a .50 caliber sniper rifle in their
possession. All were ultimately convicted.[14]
A member of the radical Mountaineer Militia in West Virginia was arrested by federal agents in a plot to bomb an FBI office. A search of the
suspect's home recovered a .50 caliber sniper rifle.[13]
Seven suspects with two .50 caliber sniper rifles were arrested by the U.S. Coast Guard in the Caribbean in a plot to assassinate Fidel Castro by
using the .50 caliber sniper rifles to shoot down his plane off the coast of Venezuela.[11 & 13]
Canadian officials found a .50 caliber sniper rifle and 500 rounds of ammunition for it, along with explosives, at a remote site. A Texas militia
group was suspected of running an illegal training camp.[14]"
etc. etc.
Lots of examples of posession, not many of these rifles actually being USED for anything.
Several of the examples are of crap going on in foreign countries, in areas where the populace is already at war with TPTB or themselves (Mexico,
Northern Ireland). WTF does this have to do with our RKBA?
[edit on 19-12-2008 by hotrodturbo7]
