OH BOY! As if TASERS aren't a big enough worry...one police force is getting assault rifles!

[Horse with no Name]

:scared:
http://easttexasdailynews.com/?c=125&a=7128
The Addison police department has become the first in the country to issue FN PS90 assault rifles to officers on routine patrol. The weapons have a shorter firing distance; lessening the chance an innocent bystander could be injured. Most police officers carry AR-15 rifles.

[AX10]

1. See why the civilian populace needs guns now.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

2. Too shoot cops?

Is that an NRA talking point?

[AX10]

4. To protect ourselves in case those with power step over the line.

When it comes to civil liberties, I am a HAWK!

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

5. So, shooting cops.

Not that I'm meaning you, but I always thought it was amusing that the people who always rallied against "cop killers" in the inner city, and how we should always "support our troops" keep arguing that we need guns for the day when it's time to shoot cops and troops.

[ManiacJoe]

3. Oh, for the want of fact checking in news reports.

The FN PS90 is not an assault rifle.

[Hangingon]

7. How do you classify it?

No scarsm. I think it is a pretty neat weapon - very modern bull pup design. The 5.7 x 28 round has been controversial. Looks like Addison is well armed.

[ManiacJoe]

8. It is a semi-automatic rifle.

Same category as the AR-15. It is certainly small enough to be a carbine.

To be an assault rifle, it would need to be able to fire more than one round with a single trigger pull, among other things.

[Hangingon]

10. Sounds good

I saw one at a range last summer and thought it looked strange. It handled nicely although I did not fire it. I did fire a FN pistol in 5.7x28 and the muzzle flash is awesome. I had to blink a couple of times to get back on target.

[rAVES]

12. SMG

[Vinca]

6. The difference is that police consider guns "deadly force," but

tasers are viewed as a little shock and no big deal. Unfortunately, that's not proving to be true.

[benEzra]

9. So the police are replacing .729 caliber shotguns with NON-automatic .22's...

The casual use of Tasers is far more alarming, IMHO.

FWIW, the PS90 is a civilian, non-automatic .22-caliber centerfire carbine that is ballistically similar to a .22 magnum rimfire (like you'd use for hunting rabbits). They're not "assault rifles," though the gun-control lobby would term them "assault weapons" (a term which can cover most police firearms). The reporter should have done a little research.



IMO, this is a positive step, as small-caliber carbines pose much less risk of ricochet and injury to innocent bystanders than shotguns, are easier to aim precisely, and have a somewhat greater effective range. They also happen to be less lethal than shotguns at close range (a 12-gauge, .729 caliber shotgun can fire sixteen .30 caliber projectiles with each pull of the trigger). Thousands of departments around the country issue patrol rifles instead of shotguns, and have been for years (the NYPD was using .30 carbines in the early '70s, if not before).

The problem with Tasers isn't that they are super-lethal; it's that because they are marketed as perfectly safe, they are commonly used as obedience tools rather than as alternatives to more lethal levels of force.

[sarcasmo]

11. For the up and coming Martial Law, to be Declared after the next Terra attack.

Happy Thanksgiving.

[Sanctified]

13. It's a pee shooter, if I was a cop I would rather have my pistol over one of those.

seriously the thing looks cool but the ammo is so low caliber you would be better off getting shot 10 times by one of those then once by .357.