Last week FCI staff joined forces with several other gun rights organizations on the floor of the New Jersey state legislature to prevent the passage of A-2116, a proposed 50 caliber ban. FCI Chairman John Burtt joined Scott Bach, President of the Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs (ANJRPC) and Bob Viden, NRA Board Member to provide New Jersey legislators with accurate information on the effects A-2116 would have on the community of law abiding gun owners from that state. After two hours of testimony, the New Jersey Assembly Judiciary Committee passed A-2116 (http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2008/Bills/A2500/2116_I1.PDF) by a vote of 5-1.

As passed, the legislation will ban virtually all firearms .50 caliber and over. While the Committee attempted to address some of the concerns of gun owners and sportsmen, it still bans many popular hunting guns, historical American firearms, and large bore target firearms, based on alleged public safety concerns. Included are historical American firearms and replicas, including those from the Revolutionary War and Civil War eras. The legislation makes the fundamental mistake of banning guns based on the size of the barrel rather than punishing criminal behavior. Proponents of the ban attempted to demonize a whole class of firearms and their owners by claiming the only intent of these firearms is criminal misuse.

This was the 2^nd trip to New Jersey in the past year for FCI to provide figures, evidence and expert testimony to our legislators in an effort to educate them in their responsibilities. The last presentation we gave was before the Assembly Public Safety Committee in 2007 and the bill was passed out of that committee and sent to the Assembly Judiciary Committee because it was ‘admittedly flawed’ and needed substantial revision. At the time of our last presentation I felt reasonably certain the authors of the bill would ask for our input into the bill before bringing it up for consideration in the Judiciary Committee. Not to be!! CEASEFIRENJ (CFNJ) is the only organization being listened to by the NJ Legislature.

What became abundantly clear as the hearing progressed on Thursday morning was the obvious intent of the legislators to submit a bill to the Assembly floor to ban the .50 BMG. Regardless of how accurate our information was as we responded to the hysterical attacks by CFNJ, it became obvious the legislators had been given instruction by "House Leadership" to pass this bill out of committee.

Attached is a photograph representatives from CFNJ used during their presentation of their arguments. (a photo of an EDM Arms Mdl 96 .50 BMG) FCI was available to respond to any comments or questions from the committee members, but the only comment we heard was, "civilians don’t have a need for firearms like this". Had I not already addressed the committee before this photo was put up, I would have told them I own one.

A 2116 is a very badly written piece of legislation that if left as is, will directly affect the ownership and possession of a wide group of firearms that have been owned by law-abiding citizens of NJ for hundreds of years. This bill will have no positive impact on reducing crime and has nothing to do with the safety of police officers in the street. The author of the bill has promised to ‘address the concerns of antique firearms owners, re-enactors and shotgun owners but the heart of this bill will be directed at owners of 50 caliber center fire rifles. That was made perfectly clear during the hearing.

Another aspect of the hearing that was disappointing (and this is the 2nd time it has occurred at a hearing in NJ) was one firearms owner who spoke was concerned only about his own guns. He railed about them trying to take away the guns he had a right to own and pass on to his children and grandchildren, but he ended his statement by saying, "you can take those big 50 bmg’s, but leave my guns alone". Nothing like being thrown in front of the train.

FCI again has offered our entire resources and staff to the offices of the NJ Legislature to provide them with accurate information on firearms related legislation. I’m not holding my breath, but it would be refreshing to have something like that happen.

One of my big concerns about the NJ legislation is the legislators are not hearing from people who live in NJ and own a .50 BMG. The legislature needs to know there are many people who safely own and shoot this rifle who live in NJ and they need to know your concerns about your rifles. I strongly urge 50 owners to call the author of this bill and express your opinions. The author of this bill is listed here:

Reed Gusciora : http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/BIO.asp?Leg=158

FCI Website Down:

On Wednesday June 11^th the FCI website went down and was down for five (5) days. We have since received a lot of email about it and without going into a lengthy explanation it was a series of ‘glitches’ that added up to a catastrophe. We’ll try not to let that happen again.

Fifty Caliber Shooters Association (FCSA) World Championships:

As most of us know the time is fast approaching when fifty caliber shooters from all over the United States and other countries will be gathering to compete in the annual World Championships hosted by the Fifty Caliber Shooters Association (FCSA) at the most prestigious shooting center in the world. Of course I speak of the 60,000 acre NRA Whittington Center in Raton, NM. If you have never shot at the Whittington Center it is one of those events you really need to put on your check-off list of events to accomplish in this lifetime. Shooting fifty calibers at 1,000 yds just makes it all that much better. (photo by Brett Berger-2006)

If you have questions about our World Championships you can call the FCI office at (405) 769-7851 or the FCSA office at (435) 527-9245 and someone will take the time to answer your questions. You can also visit the FCSA website at: www.fcsa.org and get all your questions answered. The event this year is scheduled from June 30^th through July 6^th and if you’re interested, the buttons below will take you directly to the FCSA website to get involved in this years event. If you’ve never done it, you need to. If you’ve done it before, you know how much fun it is. Come participate in one of the best annual events you’ll ever enjoy!

Important Event Information:

World Championships Match Information Rookie of the Year Award - Qualification Information World Championships Match Registration Form World Championships Secure Online Payment FCSA Match Waiver Form NRA Whittington Center Range Membership Info NRA Whittington Center Range Directions Local Hotels

EDM Arms Windrunner Model 05 Semi-automatic Rifle:

As you all know, FCI has to depend on our supporters to provide the funds for us to continue in our role. I’m asking everyone to take the time to go to our website and look at the current fundraiser we are hosting. Bill Ritchie, owner of EDM Arms in CA has graciously donated a $10,000 rifle to FCI to be given away to some lucky winner. We have made this drawing very attractive and we need your help and support. Please go to http://www.fiftycal.org/events.php and look at our fundraiser. I think you’ll be pleased.

To view our full-page, printable fundraiser flyer, complete with clippable coupon for entry, click on the flyer image on the right. Please print out a few and give to some fifty cal friends.

Best regards and safe shooting.

John Burtt
Chairman, FCI