Lies and Fear Mongering in Hawaii (Or Hawaii 5O, .50BMG That Is)

Armed and Safe posted this YouTube clip the other day, and it has been bothering me ever since.



The gun fearing police officer in this video is Maj. Gregory Lefcourt, the Legislative Liaison for the Honolulu Police Department. The Legislative Liaison works for the Support Services Bureau under Administrative Operations. As evidenced by this video clip, the Legislative Liaison is a weenie, a liar and a fear monger.

Quotes attributed to Maj. Lefcourt:

"People have said they can use this for hunting, but the damage it will do to an animal is so tremendous, it actually vaporizes the area that it strikes."

The .50 BMG is also an energy weapon that can vaporize flesh? Is Lefcourt an idiot or a liar? I am hanging my hat on liar.

Lefcourt said the Barrett would be able to accurately strike a target from the top of the Police Department's downtown headquarters, where yesterday's news conference was held, to the state Capitol, a distance of 0.4 miles.

One has to wonder how many times Lefcourt has stood on top of police headquarters and fantasized about shooting someone at the State Capitol. He has verified a clear field of fire, ranged his shot, and obviously thought about it. If I were a state legislator who went against the wishes of Lefcourt, I might think about using an entrance other than the one facing police headquarters. Just a thought.

Oh by the way. 0.4 miles is just over 700 yards. Quite a few calibers other than the .50 BMG can make that shot, is Lefcourt insinuating all should be banned?

So, how many violent acts have been committed by a goblin with a .50 BMG?

Police said no major incidents on Oahu were tied to the rifle,...

No incidents? As in Zero, not a single one, nada, none?

...and hope to prevent future incidents.

Oh, we are preventing potential future incidents now. Cool. Straightarrow posted a comment to the original post on Armed and Safe stating:

Commercial airliners have been known to do a lot of damage, also. Perhaps all tourist flights to the islands should be stopped. Then there would be no need to ban the .50 cal. as there would be no airliners for it to destroy.

The terrorist act of 9/11 has proven the devastating capabilities of a commercial airliner in the wrong hands, maybe Maj. Lefcourt should start worrying about that "potential future incident".

The National Guard chimes in:

"It does concern us -- shooting down airplanes four miles distances," Hawaii National Guard Gen. Gary Ishikawa said.

What is the General doing getting publicly involved in state politics?

Hyunchback had this to say over at Shooting the Messenger:

Get the general to demonstrate. "General, this is an ordinary Barret .50. Out there, four miles, is a derelict ship we have anchored. Not in motion as would an aircraft would be.

Now, you lay down there and shoot it.

Or eat your words, liar."

I'd like to see Lefcourt try the 700 yard shot, much less four miles. The official line is that they worry about one of these rifles getting into the "wrong" hands. They indicate that anyone can take an accurate 700+ yard shot just by picking up the rifle and pointing it in the general direction of the target. I really would like to see one of these jerks try to show us how easy it is by shooting the rifle themselves.

One last quote, this one from comments on Say Uncle:

Moriarty states:

Law enforcement officials should learn to speak for themselves. Apart from its reputation as a precision target rifle, the .50 BMG is known for overpenetrating structures and “neutralizing” enemy combatants at ranges that preclude positive identification. It’s entirely unclear what role it has in civilian law enforcement. (Liability attorneys, take note.)

Given that the maximum documented range for a police “sniper” engagement was some 187 yards, one imagines that Barretts are mostly “display bling” for recruitment or a range toy for bored officers. Hawaiian taxpayers should demand that .50 BMGs are banned for police use, seized and sold to private bidders and the proceeds refunded to them.

Good idea.

News quotes taken from:

The Star Bulletin

KITV Channel 4

and The Honolulu Advertiser