California efforts to ban .50 BMG ammo came and went this summer. Although the proposed ban died in committee, it raises genuine concern for our right to bear arms, and wacky Kalifornia politicians views on crime. The San Jose Mercury News goes on record as supporting the ban. They claim that it is only a matter of time before criminals pony up the $1000 for a .50 caliber rifle, and go on a killing spree.

The gun is powerful enough to punch a hole in an oil tank or take down a civilian airplane. Its 5 1/2-inch long bullets can pierce an inch of armor 40 yards away and hit a target a mile away. A massive weapon, with some models weighing in at 28 pounds, it's ill-suited for hunters -- it would take out a deer and the tree behind it -- but ideal for assassins.

They also note that it's easier to (gasp!) buy one of these evil monstrosities than it is to buy a handgun. Sure, you wouldn't hunt deer with a .50, but you might take on a rhino or elephant with it. Personally, I don't care if there is no hunting purpose for it at all, or no reason to need one. You have no need to own a car either, and they kill more people per year than guns.

The fact is that banning the .50 BMG will solve nothing, and prevent nothing, and the idea that you can get one of these for a mere $1000 is a misnomer. The cheapest .50 on this list is more than twice that. Some of the rifles cost five figures. You aren't likely to find a $1000 model that is deadly accurate at 1 mile, like they would have you believe. Even if criminals were able to steal one, they aren't likely to pony up $1.50 per round to fire the damned thing.

Even if they had the gun and the ammo, the rifle isn't very practical for mass killing or terrorism. This cheap ($2400) carbine looks pretty unwieldy. You wouldn't exactly hide it under your coat. Add a scope to it, and you aren't likely to hide the thing in your car either. They even admit that the rifles typically weigh more than 25 lbs, and firing a 700+ grain round out of one of them at speeds upwards of Mach 3, is going to sound just a bit like a cannon going off. Not exactly conducive for stealth. Of course, with it's pistol grip, heat shield, and muzzle brake, the detachable magazine versions are already illegal in California under their "assault weapons" ban.

Of course, the idea of banning this gun, does nothing to stem crime. The truth is that the .50 BMG is never used in crime. Not hardly, not rarely, NEVER. Not only would a shooter have to go unnoticed while he set up his perch, but he'd have to have some fortifications in place to keep from being busted right away. The sheer size of the gun means you aren't exactly picking it up and running with it before the cops arrive. In a terrorism capacity, you'd do much better with a poodleshooter AR-15 or Bushmaster like the Washington snipers used. Hell, you could create more fear by shooting some random person with a .22 and walking away than you could trying to lug one of these around. As far as killing power goes, you could do more damage with a rental van and some ANFO, something that was proven in Oklahoma City and the first World Trade Center bombing.

Sure, the rifle may be deadly and effective when mounted on an Army Humvee, but in the private sector it's nothing more than an expensive novelty. Banning it is just another empty promise of gun control. The gun fearing wussys may sleep better at night, but in the end, they aren't any safer than they were before.

For more reading, check out this letter to the Chief of the LAPD. Apparently the department is in the habit of using public money, and their very own LEO model .50 caliber, which is already illegal for civilians, to crusade for tougher gun control laws.