Senator Feinstein Introduces Legislation to Curb
Sales of Powerful .50 Caliber Sniper Rifles

February 24, 2003

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today introduced legislation to curb the sale of the powerful .50 caliber military sniper rifle, making it more difficult for terrorists, criminals, and members of doomsday cults to obtain these deadly weapons.

"Fifty-caliber sniper rifles are deadly, military style assault weapons, designed solely for armed combat with wartime enemies," Senator Feinstein said. "The guns enable a single shooter to destroy enemy aircraft, jeeps, tanks, personnel carriers, bunkers, fuel stations, and even communication centers. Despite their deadly power, these weapons are widely available to civilians and subject to less regulation than shotguns, machine guns, and handguns.

"This legislation would begin to change that," Senator Feinstein said. "It would place stricter requirements on the way in which these guns can be bought and sold, making it harder for terrorists, assassins, and other criminals to obtain these powerful weapons. This is not a matter of firearm safety, but a matter of national security."

Current law classifies .50-caliber rifles as "long guns," which are subject to the least government regulation of any firearm. The legislation introduced today, known as the Anti-Terrorism Military Sniper Weapon Reclassification Act of 2003, would impose far stricter standards on these weapons and reclassify them under the National Firearms Act of 1934. National Firearms Act classification would mean that:

  • Fifty caliber rifles could only be purchased from a licensed dealer and could not be purchased secondhand. This would prevent the sale of these guns at gun shows and in other venues that make it hard for law enforcement to track the weapons.


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  • Purchasers would have to fill out license transfer applications and provide fingerprints to be processed by the FBI in detailed criminal background checks. By reclassifying the .50 caliber, Congress will be making a determination that sellers should be more careful about to whom they give these powerful, military weapons. This background check process takes approximately 60 days.

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"If we are to continue to allow private citizens to own and use guns of this caliber, range, and destructive power, we should at the very least take greater care in making sure that these guns do not fall into the wrong hands," Senator Feinstein said.

The legislation is cosponsored by Senators Edward M. Kennedy, Charles Schumer, Jon Corzine, Frank Lautenberg, Richard Durbin and Carl Levin.

.50 Caliber Rifles weigh up to 28 pounds and are capable of:

  • Reliability hitting a target at more than a mile away.


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  • Piercing light armor at more than 4 miles.


  • Piercing a manhole cover, a 600-pound safe, or an armored car.


  • Destroying an armored limousine, a helicopter, or a plane. One advertisement for the rifle promoted the weapon as able to wreck several million dollars' worth of jet aircraft with one or two dollars' worth of cartridge.

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  • Penetrating several inches of steel, concrete, or light armor. In fact, many ranges used for target practice do not have enough safety features to accommodate these guns--they are too powerful.

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Examples:

  • .50 caliber rifles were used by the U.S. military in the Gulf War to take out Iraq's armored vehicles.


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  • Recent reports indicate that Al Qaeda is in possession of .50 caliber sniper rifles--rifles that were manufactured in the United States. Nearly two years ago, Essam al Ridi testified that he acquired 25 Barrett .50 caliber sniper rifles and shipped them to Al Qaeda members in Afghanistan.


  • In 1998, federal law enforcement apprehended three men belonging to a radical Michigan militia group. The three were charged with plotting to bomb federal office buildings, destroy highways and utilities. They were also charged with plotting to assassinate the State's governor, a United States Senator and federal judges. A .50 caliber sniper rifle was found in their possession along with a cache of weapons that included three illegal machine guns.
  • One doomsday cult headquartered in Montana purchased 10 of these rifles and stockpiled them in an underground bunker, along with thousands of rounds of ammunition and other guns.
  • Several ammunition dealers were willing to sell armor piercing ammunition to an undercover GAO investigator--even after the investigator said he wanted the ammunition to pierce an armored limousine or to take down a helicopter.


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  • According to news accounts, a .50-caliber sniper rifle, smuggled out of the United States, was used by the Irish Republican Army to kill a large number of British soldiers.

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