NEWS CONFERENCE ON CURBING THE SPREAD OF FIREARMS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Richmond, VA
February 11, 2004
CONTACT: Sue Rafferty,
Legislative Assistant,(804)698-1047
"Two weeks ago, I sought to offer an amendment to a bill that will proliferate the spread of guns in the commonwealth. The amendment was ruled non-germane.
But the issue I wished to raise is certainly germane to the safety of the public at large, to law enforcement officials, and to military facilities in my region of Northern Virginia and throughout the state. Let me hasten to add that I am a gun owner-I have ten of them-mostly Civil War vintage, but I'm still a gun owner nevertheless.
According to the Justice Department, from 1995 to 2000, 410 assault weapons were traced to crime scenes in Virginia. Despite the national assault weapons ban, which President Bush and Senators Warner and Allen explicitly support, there are numerous such weapons that are available outside the current ban.
These weapons are capable of shooting down a commercial airliner and piercing the armor of public safety officers. They are 50 caliber, semi-automatic, magazine-fed, with more than twice the firepower of an AK-47 and an M-16.
Here's what one of these weapons look like-and here's how the dealer described it on his website:
"If you feel the need to blow a large hole in something, the 50 Action Express Sledgehammer is just the ticket. Hurling a 325 gram, lead brick down range, there isn't much that is going to take a hit from this beast and keep on ticking.Take a look at that McDonald Douglas DC-9 center cockpit windshield.'nuf said." This weapon is built on the same kind of frame as the infamous Bushmaster used in last year's sniper attacks.
Such weapons are not about sports or hunting. They can make mincemeat out of anything they kill.
Given the destructive power of this weapon and its counterparts, the public has much to be concerned about, particularly when it comes to our airports and military facilities, which Virginia hosts in great numbers. According to the U.S. General Accounting Office, a significant percentage of 50 caliber weapons, like this one, and even worse, are being purchased legally in the U.S., winding up in the hands of domestic criminals and terrorists. GAO states, "Our investigation revealed that 50 caliber semiautomatic rifles have been linked to domestic and international criminal activity. We have established a nexus to terrorist groups, outlaw motorcycle gangs, international drug cartels, domestic drug dealers, religious cults, militia groups, potential assassins, and violent criminals. "
The U.S. Air Force in its official magazine, "Airman," explains that the Air Force has developed a cadre of specially trained counter snipers to respond to the 50 caliber sniper threat to its aircraft, fuel tank farms, control towers, and personnel. The Air Force is concerned about the danger from the invention and proliferation of 50 caliber sniper rifles, weapons that from 1000 to 2000 yards away are capable of devastating strikes that not only can punch through armor but can also turn aircraft into exploding balls of fire.
The Air Force describes a scenario of a terrorist attack-here's what they say, "The sniper points at the side of the E-3 Sentry aircraft 500 meters away. The fire from the muzzle ignites the evening air as the projectile whistles down range. It punches through the side of the aircraft, ripping through delicate components onboard the airplane. A second sniper 100 yards away fires, as does a third, launching rounds into the cockpit and the wing fuel tanks. As the white-hot bullets hit, the wing tanks explode, ripping the plane apart."
Commercial aviation suffers greater danger. Civilian airports have much less security than Air Force bases. This is not a gun control issue. It's a national security issue. No counter snipers exist on commercial airports. Most civilian perimeters are unguarded.
If you don't believe the Air Force, then look at a Rand Corporation report that illustrates the long-range threat to aircraft from 50 caliber sniper rifles. Rand calls an air base a classic "target rich environment."
One of the principal inventors of the 50 caliber semi-automatic rifle said that shooting down a plane is "just like bird hunting."
The Tromix "50 AE Express Sledgehammer," and any weapon like it, should be banned.
Much of the discussion around firearms is based on people's concept of rights. But few rights are absolute. You can't shout "fire" in a crowded theatre. You can't own a pipe bomb. Our citizens should have the right to be protected from kooks and nuts that can easily get their hands on weapons that have no purpose except to kill. As one former four-star general put it recently, "If you want to fire an assault weapon, join the military." Even Dodge City in the heyday of the Wild West required that visitors check their guns at the city line. What did they know that we don't?
I'm a resident of Arlington County. I live a mile and a half from the Pentagon. I saw the smoke billow above the trees from the airplane flown into that facility, and the flood of military and civilian employees fleeing the attack. Our county experienced the horror of a plane used as a weapon against our community and our nation. We know that there are people in this world who should never own a weapon. It's not a violation of their rights; it's a protection of everybody else's, the most fundamental right of all, and the safety of your home, your family, and your community.
Those who oppose arming terrorists and criminals; those who really care about the safety of our state and local police officers, and those who are truly appalled at the carnage on the streets of our major cities, will agree that this weapon and all others like should be added to the assault weapon ban."
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