New York Times’ latest warning; teens with .50 caliber rifles

The New York Times‘ Editorial Board takes to their typewriters once again to warn the American public about gangs of teenagers who have “super destructive” .50 caliber rifles;

Assault weapons were banned for 10 years until Congress, in bipartisan obeisance to the gun lobby, let the law lapse in 2004. As a result, gun manufacturers have been allowed to sell all manner of war weaponry to civilians, including the super destructive .50-caliber sniper rifle, which an 18-year-old can easily buy in many places even where he or she must be 21 to buy a simpler handgun. Why any civilian would need this weapon, designed to pierce concrete bunkers and armored personnel carriers, is a question that should be put to the gun makers who profit from them and the politicians who shamelessly do their bidding.

First of all, most .50 caliber sniper rifles are not semi-automatic action rifles, hence they can’t be classified as “assault rifles” – that phrase which is right up there with “ghost guns” and other descriptors of scary black guns which panic the gun grabbers. Most .50 caliber sniper rifles are bolt action – which means that each round (bullet) must be chambered manually.

Secondly, a .50 caliber sniper rifle goes for about 10 grand – the cost of a used car. I’m not aware of any teenagers who have a spare ten grand laying around to purchase a rifle. In addition, each round of ammunition for the rifle is 3-5 bucks a piece also outside the price range of most teens.

Thirdly, the beasts are hardly concealable, and not easily transported to the prospective scene of a crime. For example, the Barrett M82 is 57 inches long and weighs more than 30 pounds.

Congress has shamelessly become the last to admit what the public senses with each new shooting spree: The nation needs restoration of a federal assault weapons ban — this time minus the loopholes the gun industry exploited to boost sales.

The gun grabbers have been biding their time waiting for a mass shooting involving scary black rifles which have features that don’t enhance the weapons’ efficiency. How many bayonetings have happened, but bayonet studs are one feature that makes a rifle an “assault rifle”, just like a flash suppressor or a barrel shroud. Or “the thing in the back that goes up” – whatever that is. All those things do is frighten anti-gun nuts.

Last weekend, the media were exploiting the scary sounding “bullet button” which is actually a button that requires a tool to drop an empty magazine from a rifle before you can insert a fresh magazine. The use of the “bullet button” is designed to slow the process, but the media was using the term to scare people into thinking that by somehow pressing the “bullet button” increases the rate of fire. The two terrorists had actually disabled the “bullet buttons” on their guns so they could load faster – but not to hear the media tell it.

Category: Gun Grabbing Fascists, Media