[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 16205]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             SITTING DUCKS

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, last week the Violence Policy Center, VPC, 
released a report entitled Sitting Ducks detailing the danger of the 
.50 caliber sniper rifle as a terrorist threat to, among other things, 
refineries and hazardous-chemical facilities. According to the VPC's 
report, the .50 caliber sniper rifle, equipped with explosive or armor-
piercing ammunition, is capable of hitting a target accurately from 
more than a thousand yards away making it well suited to attack fuel 
tanks and other high-value targets from a distance.
  The VPC report highlights the danger of a .50 caliber sniper rifle 
being used in a simple conventional attack with potentially disastrous 
results. The weapon is not only readily available, ``low technology'', 
but a .50 caliber sniper rifle is so powerful that it has been said to 
be able to wreck several million dollars' worth of jet aircraft with 
one or two dollars' worth of ammunition.
  Despite its obvious power, under current law .50 caliber sniper 
rifles are no more regulated than hunting rifles. That is why I 
cosponsored Senator Feinstein's ``Military Sniper Weapon Regulation 
Act,'' S. 505. This bill would change the way .50 caliber guns are 
regulated by placing them under the requirements of the National 
Firearms Act. This action would subject these weapons to the same 
regimen of registration and background checks to which other weapons of 
war, such as machine guns, are currently subjected. This is a necessary 
step to assuring the safety of Americans.
  Mr. President, .50 caliber weapons are too powerful and too 
accessible to be ignored. Tighter regulations are needed. I urge my 
colleagues to support Senator Feinstein's bill.

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