[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 115 (Wednesday, September 14, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S10033]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        THE CANDY STORE FOR GUNS

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I have consistently supported commonsense 
legislation to help stop the flow of guns to the black market. 
Unfortunately, the failure of Congress to act on several commonsense 
bills has allowed criminals and terrorists continued potential easy 
access to guns. In addition to endangering our families and communities 
here in the United States, congressional inaction may also be helping 
to fuel international trafficking of powerful firearms.
  Earlier this year, the CBS news program ``60 Minutes'' aired a 
segment about the activities of an arms merchant who legally purchased 
high-powered weapons here in the U.S. and smuggled them to the Kosovo 
Liberation Army to be used in their fight for independence from Serbia. 
According to him, the weapon of choice for the KLA was the .50-caliber 
sniper rifle.
  Published reports indicate that .50-caliber sniper rifles are capable 
of accurately hitting a target more than 1,500 yards away with a bullet 
measuring a half inch in diameter. In addition, these thumb-size 
bullets come in armor-piercing, incendiary, and explosive varieties 
that can easily punch through aircraft fuselages, fuel tanks, and 
engines. Under current law, .50-caliber sniper rifles can be purchased 
by private individuals with only minimal Federal regulation. In fact, 
these dangerous weapons are treated the same as other long rifles 
including shotguns, hunting rifles, and smaller target rifles.
  ``60 Minutes'' pointed out that this one individual made use of his 
easy access to .50-caliber sniper rifles and other high-powered weapons 
to help outfit the KLA. He said: Anything you need to run a small 
guerrilla army, you can buy here in America. You have all the guns you 
need here to fight a war.
  He continued: All the rifles which U.S. soldiers use in every war, 
you can buy them in a gun store or a gun show.
  While he would not discuss the total number of .50-caliber rifles he 
shipped out of the country, the author of a book about the subject 
estimated the number to be several hundred. The author told ``60 
Minutes'' that on one occasion, the arms merchant and his associates 
hid nearly one hundred .50-caliber sniper rifles in a shipment of 
humanitarian aid to Albanian refugees.
  For their report, ``60 Minutes'' also interviewed Joe Vince, a former 
senior official at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and 
Explosives. He commented on our Nation's gun laws by saying: We are the 
candy store for guns in the world. And it's easy for people to acquire 
them here.
  During his interview, Mr. Vince called for computerized records of 
gun sales that would allow law enforcement officials to look for 
patterns of buying activity for high-powered firearms including .50-
caliber sniper rifles. This approach may be helpful for identifying the 
gun trafficking operations that arm criminals in our country as well as 
those that support militants in other parts of the world, including 
terrorists.
  I have cosponsored the Fifty-Caliber Sniper Weapon Regulation Act 
introduced by Senator Feinstein. This bill would reclassify .50-caliber 
rifles under the National Firearms Act, treating them the same as other 
high powered or especially lethal firearms like machine guns and sawed 
off shotguns. Among other things, reclassification of .50-caliber 
sniper rifles under the NFA would subject them to new registration 
requirements. Future transfers or sales of .50-caliber sniper rifles 
would have to be conducted through a licensed dealer with an 
accompanying background check. In addition, the rifle being sold would 
have to be registered with Federal authorities.
  We have a responsibility to those we represent as well as to other 
nations to help stop dangerous firearms from falling into the hands of 
people who seek to use them for violence. I am hopeful that the 
Congress will recognize the danger of inaction and pass legislation to 
require registration of military style firearms like the .50-caliber 
sniper rifle.

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