REALLY BIG GUNS: EVEN BIGGER LIES - Violence Policy Center

Chandler (U.S. Marine Corps, Ret.), described the Barrett. 114
Moreover, as detailed in the following quote from Voting from the Rooftops,
terrorists within the United States plotting serious attacks on state and federal
government targets have in fact obtained 50 caliber sniper rifles:
On March 19, 1998, following an undercover investigation, federal law
enforcement officers arrested three members of a radical Michigan group
known as the North American Militia. The men were charged with
plotting to bomb federal office buildings, destroy highways, utilities and
public roads, and assassinate the state’s governor, senior U.S. Senator,
federal judges and other federal officials. All three were ultimately
convicted.
The judge who sentenced these conspirators noted, among other things,
that they were “obsessed with guns” and remarked upon the
“immaturity” of the ring leader. This immature obsession led the plotters
to include a 50 caliber sniper rifle among the two dozen
weapons—including three illegal machine guns—found in their
possession....
In a similar case in West Virginia, officials found a 50 caliber sniper rifle
in the home of a member of the Mountaineer Militia charged in a
conspiracy to bomb an FBI office.
Voting from the Rooftops 115
The fact that these plots were interdicted does not at all diminish the threat,
since no one knows who is buying these guns, in what quantities, or for what
purposes. The same report details acquisition of .50BMG anti-armor sniper rifles by
other unsavory groups. The real problem is aptly illustrated by the following testimony
of expert witness Ronnie G. Barrett in a federal criminal trial, when asked about
potential uses to which his .50BMG anti-armor sniper rifles might be put:
Q. They are sold legally to civilians to use legally in the United States
or in other locations?
A. Yes.
Q. And you know the nature and capabilities of your weapon that you
sell and that you design; is that correct?
A. Yes.
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