CNN, Terrorists, the Firearms Inudstry & .50s

The CNN/.50 story is getting some traction, as well it should!

First, this from the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep & Bear Arms (CCRKBA):

The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) today condemned a sensational report on CNN that not only alerts potential terrorists on possible misuses of .50-caliber sporting rifles, but also literally provides a "road map" on how to obtain one of these cumbersome and very expensive firearms.

"In yet another media attempt to demonize a particular firearm, which CNN's own reporter, Drew Griffin, acknowledged has ‘really never been used domestically in a criminal event,' this outrageous report still suggests to potential terrorists how such a gun might be put to criminal use," said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb.

CCRKBA Executive Director Joe Waldron agreed, noting, "The CNN report comes awfully close to being an attempt by a news organization to encourage an incident, just so CNN can later say ‘We warned you'. This sort of journalism belongs right down there with the CBS debacle over the manufactured documents regarding allegations about President Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard. With so-called ‘news' like this on the nation's airwaves, it is no wonder that the American public no longer trusts the media, and believes the press has a political agenda."

The CNN message is not just "consistent" with the steady anti-.50 campaign from both the Violence Policy Center (VPC) and the Brady Center, it is a virtual restating of the message! Check out this "Tools for Terror" section of the VPC's "white paper" on .50s:

Turning Hazardous Chemical Facilities Into Weapons

A substantial amount of attention has been given in recent days to the subject of Osama bin Laden's interest in obtaining and using chemical weapons, and analyzing the likelihood of his acquiring them.199 Yet counter-terror experts have warned of the threat of another type of attack, similar in concept to using commercial aircraft as bombs—turning hazardous industrial facilities themselves into chemical weapons. In another similarity to Al Qaeda's known means of operation, experts note that using such low-tech means has the added benefit of a lower operational profile, harder to detect by authorities.

Here again is a case in which the 50 caliber sniper rifles in the hands of Al Qaeda and other terrorists present specific capabilities that can be turned to catastrophic opportunity.

The VPC report offers IN DETAIL all the ways a high-powered rifle — they specifically mention .50 cals, but feel free to substitute my .300 Ultra Mag or your .308 deer rifle! — can be used in terrorist attacks. Now go to the Brady Center and download their "scathing report" on guns and terrorists, where you'll learn: By examining in detail specific cases involving terrorists and guns, the report shows that: