In our country we regulate the government, automobiles, professions, services, products, the airwaves etc. etc. but we don't seem to be able to regulate firearms whose sole purpose is to destroy something. As far as anyone can tell none of the above mentioned things have been prohibited or restricted from the general public. Certainly people should be able to have guns if they so desire but, like in all things, those same people need to be held accountable when their arms are involved in any illegal activity. The country should really worry about terrorists who don't need to smuggle anything in when they can buy anything they want right here.

No criminal act has been committed with the Barret 50 cal. rifle. Its singled out because it looks "dangerous" because its Black. Its not used due to it being:
1. Expensive - 3to 4000 dollars
2. Heavy - weighs 30 or so.

The sniper rifle used by the US military is simply a .308 caliber deer rifle with a heavy barrel to stead it. Every deer hunterr in the US likely has a version. The rifle I use is a 7mm Magnum that is much more powerful than these "EVIL" "Sniper" rifle. This so called "Sniper" scope is the same one every hunter has for deer or elk hunting or steel silouette target competition.

People are already held accountable if they misuse any device that results in damage to others, be it a car or a knife or a hammer if Im not mistaken.

Last week 8 people were injured when a nut went off and STABBED the people he worked with. Last year in Canada they had a killer on the loose that used a ball-bat. SO Im guessing we will have some leftist Democrat (likely ) from the Peoples Republic of NY or other East or West coasst calling for registration for these evil weapons.

Or, lord forbid, we could hold the people accountable that do perform such acts.

Novel concept I know , especially for a Dem. Congressman. Its becoming very hard to decide which is growing worse... The Puritannical Right..or the Tyrannical Left.

Give me a break....Please. Put a scope on any weapon, pistol, rifle, even bow and arrow, and you've got "A sniper weapon". The latest sniper shooting was done with a hunting rifle. (I doubt if it was a Rambo sniper rifle). I think those that want to create new laws, restricting or prohibiting weapons design , should take a crash course on what they are dealing with.

"While most states regulate handguns by requiring a permit for their purchase and possession"

This is completely and patently untrue. Most states simply require that you be over the age of 21 and not a felon. Please avoid lieing in your articles.

Also note that "sniper" is a military term that has since been replaced with the PC term "designated marksman" which really just means the best shot in the squad most of the time.

ALSO Also note that to purchase a rifle, one must be 18 years of age in addition to passing the background check.

"Also being proposed in the House and Senate is a ban on large .50 caliber sniper-type rifles in the United States, but those proposals remain in committee."

Pray that this bill does not go anywhere. California banned these rifles, so Barrett Rifles (located in Murfreesboro, TN) ceased all sales and service of their rifles to police departments and S.W.A.T teams in California, saying that as a company they could not break the law by diong business with any agency that violated the Constitution of the United States of America. If the US gov't. passes a universal ban on them, our military will no longer have them either. The Marines reallyr eally like them, so that ban will never happen. And even if you oculd get Barrett to sell them to the military without selling them to the populace, the business would go under, since 80+% of their sales are to civilians (mostly for long-range target shooting competition).

In conclusion, quit preaching that evil death sniper assault guns are totally unregulated and are going to kill us all. Try doing real research (and I don't mean reading anything published by those experts of the lie, the Brady Coalition to End Gun Violence) and then blame the abberant members of society who take perfectly innocuous tools which are used daily by normal people for perfectly legal and safe purposes and use them to commit twisted, evil, stupid, hurtful acts. Thousands of Americans kill game animals to help feed their families every day with rifles nigh upon identical to the one used by this so-called Indiana sniper or, as I like to call him, a stupid hacked-off teenager who shot at some passing vehicles because he was being overdramatic after arguing with his family. More gun legislation is not the answer, as Washington, DC's ever skyrocketting murder rate can attest to. The solution is punishing those who break the law adequately so as to discourage and dissuade others from doing the same.

Now, leave my guns alone!

Full Disclosure: I shoot competitively in USPSA (A55369) pistol and three-gun (pistol, rifle, and shotgun) competition, I hunt, and a shoot skeet and trap recreationally.

Oh, also: Your headline is total Lies. "Sniper" rifles cannot be sold online to individuals unless that individual is the possessor of a Federal Firearms License. This allows them to receive firearms as a dealer or owner. It costs quite a bit of money, too, so very few people (comparatively) have one.

Also, with respect to the commenter who mentioned that terrorists can buy everything they need once they're over here: Yeah, they can go to Lowes and buy fertilizer and make car bombs. So why don't we regulate that, too?

Precisely because there are stupid, hacked-off kids, abberant members of society, crazy people out there that we need someway to help us reduce the number of innocent victims of firearms misuse. By the way, go buy a BIG batch of fertilizer somewhere and see if the FBI doesn't come calling at your door. Any firearm is not an innocuous tool and needs to be treated with the greatest respect and knives are regulated in some places. No one disputes that people have the right to own and use firearms.

mrbill sayd, "SO Im guessing we will have some leftist Democrat (likely ) from the Peoples Republic of NY or other East or West coasst calling for registration for these evil weapons."

Why stereotype? You're doing the same thing to leftists and/or Democrats that some - SOME people are doing to guns. You're as wrong as they are.

Man has been killing his fellow man since the 1st man picked up a rock . In their frustrating to them & amusing to me battle to "Regulate Firearms In The U.S.A " the lying lemmings of the Left Anti-Gun Crowd have racked up a very very Long List of what new ideas DO NOT WORK in their vain attempt to Demonize Guns To Extinction in our great nation. Keep up the Great Work..everytime one of your Poliiticians try to sell the public on these UNCONSTITUTIONAL ideologies they get creamed by the NRA and Their Political Clout..yay , keep up the great work I'm One Of Your Biggest Fans !
Rusty Car

Yeah. McCarthy made HR 1022. She just wants to keep rifles and shotguns are carbines out of the wrong hands.

You are the wrong hands.

According to her, we can't let evil civilians have ANY guns that can match what the military or police are using.

Ever heard the name Dereck Hale, a USMC officer? Look him up. A police hit squad murdered him in broad daylight.

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Posted by:technococcus

Also note that "sniper" is a military term that has since been replaced with the PC term "designated marksman" which really just means the best shot in the squad most of the time.
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You are incorrect. The term "sniper" is indeed a military term, but it has NOT been "replaced" with the term "Designated Marksman". These are two very different terms denoting two very distinct roles. In the Marine Corps, a "sniper" is one with a specific MOS, gained by attending the USMC Sniper School, and he uses the Marine Corps issue M40 Sniper Rifle (Similar to the M24 Army version).
A "Designated Marksman" does not have to attend the Sniepr School, he merely must be "the best shot in the squad" as you put it (Although it is typically more like the best shot in the whole company). A DM typically uses an "accurized" version of the M-14 rifle (although this is being phased out in favor of the SR25M). While snipers are more focused on extreme long-range targets (up to 2000 meters+), DM's are typically restriced to operating within the 800 meter envelope, and are able to lay down higher volumes of fire.

The bottom line sir, is these are not interchangable terms, nor is the "Designated Marksman" notation simply a PC term for sniper.

I am a true American, I am a Marine, I am an Iraq Veteran, a loving husband and father. I am a gun owner. The phrase "gun contol" makes me want to vomit. "Gun control" means using both hands. If these beaurocrats get their wishes and make the AR-15, MINI-14 and other so-called terror weapons illegal for the ordinary American Patriot to own. Our country would be more prone to attacks. Russia didnt want to invade us durning the cold war because "To attack the west coast would be suicide. They (Americans) all have guns." Think about what the fore-fathers set forth in the constitution and what makes us the greatest nation on the face of this earth. Its freedom. Remember the 2nd ammendment.

You can have my gun when you pry it from my cold dead fingers.

Semper Fi