Mike Levin: “last week the Violence Policy Center, VPC, released a report entitled Sitting Ducks detailing the danger of the .50…”

“last week the Violence Policy Center, VPC, released a report entitled Sitting Ducks detailing the danger of the .50 caliber sniper rifle as a terrorist threat to, among other things, refineries and hazardous-chemical facilities. According to the VPC's report, the .50 caliber sniper rifle, equipped with explosive or armor-piercing ammunition, is capable of hitting a target accurately from more than a thousand yards away making it well suited to attack fuel tanks and other high-value targets from a distance. The VPC report highlights the danger of a .50 caliber sniper rifle being used in a simple conventional attack with potentially disastrous results. The weapon is not only readily available, 'low technology', but a .50 caliber sniper rifle is so powerful that it has been said to be able to wreck several million dollars' worth of jet aircraft with one or two dollars' worth of ammunition. Despite its obvious power, under current law .50 caliber sniper rifles are no more regulated than hunting rifles. That is why I cosponsored Senator Feinstein's 'Military Sniper Weapon Regulation Act,' S. 505. This bill would change the way .50 caliber guns are regulated by placing them under the requirements of the National Firearms Act. This action would subject these weapons to the same regimen of registration and background checks to which other weapons of war, such as machine guns, are currently subjected. This is a necessary step to assuring the safety of Americans.”