Talk:Barrett Firearms Company
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[edit] A lot of "response", lot much "criticism"
The "responds to criticism" section reads like sheer advocacy, and is in dire need of some sources. It would ideally limit itself to matters directly concerned with the BFC: there must be better places for "debates about 50-cal weaponry" in their general form. Alai 04:33, 26 October 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Check the facts!
There has only been one crime committed in the United States with a .50 caliber rifle. Marvin Heemeyer, a man from Granby, Colorado, used a Barrett rifle as part of his "Killdozer" rampage. Although he fired several rounds from the weapon, they were intended as warning shots, and no one was injured.
This claim is false. Marvin Heemyer only had one gun, the small revolver he killed himself with.207.69.140.23 03:24, 19 January 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Check the facts!-> I DID!
No, its not! http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5139598/ Read it for yourself. Google is a WONDERFUL tool, if you only bother to use it . . . . —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 64.85.245.43 (talk) 07:58, 23 January 2007 (UTC).
[edit] Criticism
I removed the criticism section and pasted it below, please find sources for any parts you add back. BJTalk 23:25, 4 February 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Barrett responds to criticism
Gun control organizations such as the Violence Policy Center have decried the availability of Barrett's rifles to civilians in the United States and have been pushing for states to ban the civilian ownership of .50 BMG rifles.
There has only been one crime committed in the United States with a .50 caliber rifle. Marvin Heemeyer, a man from Granby, Colorado, used a Barrett rifle as part of his "Killdozer" rampage. Although he fired several rounds from the weapon, they were intended as warning shots, and no one was injured. A recent road-rage incident in which police seized a .50 caliber weapon turned out to be an antique pistol with a half-inch bore diameter. A pistol round, even one in "fifty caliber" is not nearly as potent as .50 BMG.
They justify banning this calibre of high-powered rifles by claiming that they have no civilian use and are readily available to terrorist groups- especially for the purpose of penetrating armoured vehicles and aircraft. However, the original fully-automatic Browning M2 Machine Gun was abandoned as impractical for this purpose following the Second World War. Rifles in the .50BMG calibre are often used by civilians for very long range target shooting and hunting.
In response to the California ban on the civilian ownership of .50 BMG rifles, Barrett Firearms instituted a policy of refusing to sell to or service rifles for any California Law Enforcement Agency. It is known that the LAPD has several of these rifles in its arsenal, but they were purchased pre-ban.
Recent programs on Dateline for NBC and 60 Minutes on CBS suggested that the Barrett .50 cal rifle could be used to down an airliner in flight. While designed to disable planes on the ground, military studies have shown it is extremely unlikely that even with a 10 round magazine the rifle can hit an airborne plane. Also, with the advent of the autocannon, .50 BMG ammunition is no longer used in anti-aircraft weapons. In addition, the inability to conceal such firearms, along with their extreme expense (upwards of $8,000) would make their criminal use unlikely.
