Ban the Gun, Not the Terrorist

The usual idiocy.

More than two dozen anti-gun violence groups have asked President Barack Obaman to ban further importation of the type of handgun used in the Fort Hood massacre.

In a Thursday letter to the president, the group takes aim at the FN Herstal Five-seveN armor-piercing semiautomatic pistol. The letter suggests that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms could take action immediately to effect the import ban.

According to the letter, the Belgian-made gun "is one of the most popular with traffickers supplying Mexican DrugTrafficking Organizations (DTOs) who have nicknamed the gun the “mata policia” or 'cop killer.'”

Jeri Bonavia, executive director of the Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort Educational Fund, is one of the 27 signatories on the letter.

The FN in question fires a bullet which is about .26" in diameter and has a pointed nose, not the more typical rounded-nose found in 9mm, .40, 10mm, .45 (etc.) That's why it's "armor-piercing"--the shape of the bullet allows it to slip through many vests.

However, it's simply not as effective as a man-stopper. Yes, if you put enough of those rounds through someone, they will die (and there's always the well-aimed shot.)

But banning the weapon merely requires a determined killer to use another weapon (an AR-15 will do, clumsily--or its short cousin, the M-4.) And banning the FN in the USA only deprives US citizens of the weapon. It's ludicrous to think that drug-cartel money can't buy FNs in some other place. But then again, ludicrous is the default-position for gun-banners' alleged minds.

Better to have added 2+2 with Hasan and put him where he belonged a long time ago.