Tuesday, June 13, 2000
Fifty Caliber Rifles and Ammunition, Guns

Legislation Relating to Fifty Caliber Rifles

At the urging of Reps. Blagojevich and Waxman and other members, Congress enacted one important piece of legislation in 1999 relating to fifty caliber sniper weapons as part of the Department of Defense appropriations bill (Pub. L. No. 106-259). This law prohibits the Department of Defense from selling armor-piercing ammunition for fifty caliber weapons to civilians through its demilitarization program. Other Important Pieces of Legislationrelating to fifty caliber sniper weapons have been introduced by Reps. Blagojevich and Waxman, but not enacted into law. In 1999, Reps. Blagojevich and Waxman introduced the Military Sniper Weapon Regulation Act (H.R. 2127) to regulate these weapons under the restrictive standards utilized for machine guns and other dangerous weapons. In 1999, Reps. Blagojevich and Waxman also introduced the Law Enforcement Official Protection and Officer John C. Knight Memorial Act (H.R. 2421) to regulate the sale and manufacture of armor piercing and incendiary ammunition.