[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 29 (Wednesday, March 8, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S1884]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
THE FIVE-SEVEN PISTOL
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, the Five-Seven handgun, manufactured by the
Belgian firearms company FN Herstal, was reportedly designed to provide
military and law enforcement personnel with a small, lightweight, and
accurate pistol that was powerful enough to kill or seriously injure
enemies wearing body armor. A January 2000 cover article in the popular
American Handgunner magazine profiled the handgun and predicted that,
for obvious reasons, ``neither the gun nor the ammunition will ever be
sold to civilians.'' Unfortunately, the American Handgunner article was
wrong and FN Herstal made the Five-Seven pistol available to private
buyers in 2004. These high-powered firearms clearly have no sporting
purpose and pose a great threat to the lives of our law enforcement
officers.
According to the FN Herstal website, the Five-Seven weighs less than
2 pounds fully loaded and measures only 8.2 inches in length, making it
easily concealable. A statement which previously appeared on the
website boasted ``Enemy personnel, even wearing body armor can be
effectively engaged up to 200 meters. Kevlar helmets and vests as well
as the CRISAT protection will be penetrated.'' This statement has since
been removed.
Ballistics tests conducted by the American Handgunner for their
January 2000 article provided evidence of the armor-piercing
capabilities of the Five-Seven pistol. In the tests, ammunition fired
by the Five-Seven successfully pierced level IIA Kevlar body armor and
penetrated 6 inches into ballistics testing gelatin behind it.
According to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, level IIA
Kevlar body armor is the kind commonly worn by law enforcement
officers.
The already lethal nature of the Five-Seven handgun was amplified
when Congress failed to renew the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban, allowing it
to expire on September 14, 2004. Among other things, Congress's
inaction resulted in the legalization of previously banned high-
capacity magazines, including the 20 round clip currently sold with the
Five-Seven.
The law enforcement community is rightfully concerned about the Five-
Seven's ability to kill law enforcement personnel, even while they are
wearing protective body armor. Last year, a coalition of law
enforcement groups including the International Association of Chiefs of
Police, the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, and the
National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives issued a
warning to their members about the threat posed by Five-Seven handguns.
Bernard Thompson, director of the National Organization of Black Law
Enforcement Executives, warned regarding the Five-Seven:
No one is safe from a weapon like this. Police body armor
won't offer protection if a criminal has this pistol.
In addition, the legislative director of the International
Brotherhood of Police Officers, Steve Lenkhart, called the Five-Seven
``an assault rifle that fits in your pocket.''
In response to concerns raised by law enforcement officials and
others, Senator Lautenberg, introduced the Protect Law Enforcement
Armor Act on March 3, 2005. Among other things, this legislation would
prohibit the sale of the Five-Seven pistol and its ammunition to
private buyers in the U.S. Unfortunately, despite the continuing threat
posed by this high-powered pistol to our law enforcement officers,
Senator Lautenberg's legislation has yet to receive any consideration
by the Senate Judiciary Committee in the year since it was introduced.
We should not ignore the concerns of our law enforcement officers
with regard to the Five-Seven pistol and other military-style firearms.
Congress should take up and pass commonsense legislation banning the
sale of these dangerous weapons because of the threat they pose to the
safety of our communities and those who work so hard each day to
protect them.
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