Powerful gun raises debate about who needs itArmor-piercing bullets can penetrate a tank armor or shoot a plane downWhen U.S. soldiers need to penetrate a tank's armor from a mile away, they count on a weapon that evolved from the garage tinkering of a former wedding photographer.
The .50-caliber rifle created by Ronnie Barrett and sold by his company, Barrett Firearms Manufacturing Inc., is the most powerful firearm civilians can buy.
It weighs about 30 pounds and can hit targets up to 2,000 yards away with armor-piercing bullets.
The powerful gun has drawn plenty of critics, who say the rifle could be used by terrorists to bring down commercial airliners or penetrate rail cars and storage plants holding hazardous materials.
For years some state and federal lawmakers have sought to limit or ban the gun's sale, as California did this year.
"They're (.50 caliber) easier to buy than a handgun," Diaz said. "These are ideal weapons of terrorist attack. Very dangerous elements gravitate toward these weapons."
Every branch of the U.S. military uses the rifles, and the Department of Defense last year spent about $8 million on his firearms, Barrett said.
The guns are used by civilians for hunting big game and in marksmanship competitions.
Civilian sales are crucial to business because military and police orders can fluctuate year to year, Barrett said.
"It's like, what does a 55-year-old man do with a Corvette? You drive it around and enjoy it," said Barrett, 51, whose customers include doctors, lawyers, movie makers and actors. "I know all the current actors who are Barrett rifle shooters, some Academy Award-winning people. But they don't publicize it. They love to play with them and have fun. Shooting is very fun."
A 1999 investigation by the U.S. General Accounting Office found the rifles were available on civilian markets with fewer restrictions than those placed on handguns.
The gun can now be bought by anyone 18 or older who passes a background check.
Tom Diaz, a senior policy analyst with the Washington-based Violence Policy Center, says the guns should be more regulated and harder to purchase.
Reports have observed the rifles have made their way to terrorists, drug cartels and survivalists.
Joseph King, a terrorism expert at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, said terrorists could use the weapon to take out a plane.
"I don't understand what good a .50-caliber is going to do you," King said. "I don't understand any civilian use of it. The only thing it's good for is for military or police application. You can't really hunt with it because it would destroy most of the meat."
Barrett says sales are up nearly $6 million from last year thanks to recent military and police orders.
The New York City Police Department recently announced it's training officers in its aviation unit to use the rifles, which will be on board some of the department's helicopters to intercept potential attacks from boats or airplanes.
In 2002, the Army placed an order for 4,200 of the guns, Barrett said.
the entire article can be read at:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10207205/*FW Note:American civilians, a.k.a. The People, have the
right to be armed to defend themselves, their homes, their families,
and to resist government oppression.
The banning of any firearm for sale to the civilian market while the same arm is still available for use by police and military forces is UNCONSTITUTIONAL and is a deliberate administrative strategy to put The People at a disadvantage in arms to the forces of TYRANNY.
If there's a debate about who
needs a .50 cal, just consider that there are police marksmen flying around in helcopters looking for targets, and then think on why anyone would
need an arm that could "shoot a plane down".
:evil:
