Gusciora: Foiled Fort Dix Plot Underscores Urgency for Enacting .50 caliber Gun Ban

GUSCIORA: FOILED FORT DIX PLOT UNDERSCORES URGENCY
FOR ENACTING .50 CALIBER GUN BAN

(TRENTON) - Assemblyman Reed Gusciora today said the foiled plot by six men who allegedly planned to kill military personnel stationed at Fort Dix underscores all the more why New Jersey should outlaw civilian ownership of .50 caliber firearms.

Legislation to effectively ban future retail sales of .50 caliber guns is scheduled for consideration by the Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee tomorrow in Trenton.

"As unnerving as the Fort Dix terrorism plot was, it could have been all the more worse if the weapons of choice for alleged assailants had been .50 caliber assault guns instead of AK-47s," said Gusciora.  "There could always be a next time and the next time could involve a more determined and stealthy adversary with .50 caliber firearms."

Gusciora (D-Mercer) is sponsoring legislation (A-3998) - along with Assemblymen Michael Panter (D-Monmouth) and Robert Gordon (D-Bergen) - that would revise the definition of a "destructive device" to include weapons of .50-caliber or greater, making it unlawful for civilians to possess the highly destructive weapons.  The current definition only applies to weapons .60-caliber or greater and explosive or incendiary devices.

If passed into law, New Jersey would become the second state to ban the weapons.

The bill includes an exemption for antique firearms, antique handguns, and traditional muzzleloader rifles, as well as a "grandfather" provision allowing persons who already lawfully posses a firearm of .50-caliber or greater to continue to legally possess their large caliber weapons.

According to Gusciora -- a prime sponsor of the legislation (A-3998) along with -- .50-caliber weapons can resemble hunting and sporting rifles in size and ease of use, but are military-grade weapons designed to attack parked or landing aircraft, armored personnel carriers, rail tank cars, bulk fuel storage, and concrete bunkers in war zones. The .50 caliber gun has a firing range of 2,000 yards and its ammunition is the largest round available on the civilian market. Armor-piercing, incendiary, and explosive rounds are easily available to the public.

The .50 caliber class of guns have been described as the "Rolls Royce of sniper rifles."  They can pierce armor from a mile away and are accurate at distances of 1.5 miles.

"These .50 caliber guns have no legitimate sporting purpose and are a menacing threat to our state's security, our industrial installations, and our law enforcement personnel," said Gusciora..

Gusciora said the arrests this week of six men on charges of plotting a killing spree at Fort Dix shows all the more why these weapons should be outlawed in New Jersey.  The men were arrested as they tried to purchase AK-47's and other firearms from an FBI informant posing as an arms dealer. The FBI first got wind of the alleged plot after an unidentified store clerk alerted police to a video that showed the men firing assault weapons and calling for jihad.

"It's implausible that the same homegrown terrorists who were training in Pennsylvania with illegal AK-47's could just have easily walked into any gun shop in New Jersey and legally purchased a .50 caliber rifle," said Gusciora (D-Mercer). "These guns are designed to create havoc against enemy targets, not New Jersey citizens."

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