Mike Levin: “the Five-Seven handgun, manufactured by the Belgian firearms company FN Herstal, was reportedly designed to provide…”

“the Five-Seven handgun, manufactured by the Belgian firearms company FN Herstal, was reportedly designed to provide military and law enforcement personnel with a small, lightweight, and accurate pistol that was powerful enough to kill or seriously injure enemies wearing body armor. A January 2000 cover article in the popular American Handgunner magazine profiled the handgun and predicted that, for obvious reasons, ``neither the gun nor the ammunition will ever be sold to civilians.'' Unfortunately, the American Handgunner article was wrong and FN Herstal made the Five-Seven pistol available to private buyers in 2004. These high-powered firearms clearly have no sporting purpose and pose a great threat to the lives of our law enforcement officers. According to the FN Herstal website, the Five-Seven weighs less than 2 pounds fully loaded and measures only 8.2 inches in length, making it easily concealable. A statement which previously appeared on the website boasted ``Enemy personnel, even wearing body armor can be effectively engaged up to 200 meters. Kevlar helmets and vests as well as the CRISAT protection will be penetrated.'' This statement has since been removed. Ballistics tests conducted by the American Handgunner for their January 2000 article provided evidence of the armor-piercing capabilities of the Five-Seven pistol.…”