California considering curb on 50 caliber rifles

[Steve Schear]

Sniper weapons should be restricted
   A .50-caliber BMG sniper rifle, in the wrong hands, would be terrorism 
unleashed. The gun is powerful enough to punch a hole in an oil tank or 
take down a civilian airplane. Its 5 1/2-inch long bullets can pierce an 
inch of armor 40 yards away and hit a target a mile away. A massive weapon, 
with some models weighing in at 28 pounds, it's ill-suited for hunters -- 
it would take out a deer and the tree behind it -- but ideal for assassins.
Monday, July 28, 2003 (Mercury News)
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/opinion/6400612.htm

See my opinion piece reply at 
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/opinion/6442894.htm


"To those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my 
message is this: Your tactics only aid terrorists."
--John Ashcroft, U.S. Attorney General