BRING IN THE BIG GUNS, WE MIGHT NEED THE COME THE "RACE WAR"

Tennessee’s new official state rifle is so powerful it can 'destroy commercial aircraft'

  The Washington Post        Christopher Ingraham    

© AP Photo/Seth Perlman, File Capitol City Arms Supply owner Steve Swartz shows off a Barrett .50-caliber rifle in Springfield, Ill.

   The Barrett .50 caliber rifle is a powerful gun. Originally designed for military use, its rounds can "penetrate light armor, down helicopters, destroy commercial aircraft, and blast through rail cars," according to a report from the Violence Policy Center, a gun safety group. The Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence describes .50 caliber rifles like the Barrett as "among the most destructive weapons legally available to civilians in the United States."

   And as of Wednesday, the Barrett .50 caliber is now the official state rifle of Tennessee, joining an illustrious roster of other state symbols including the raccoon (state wild animal), the tomato (state fruit), and Tennessee Cave Salamander (state amphibian).

The gun's inventor, Ronnie Barrett, is a Tennessee native and NRA board member who was referred to as "the rock superstar in the world of weapons" at a 2014 birthday bash attended by politicians Mike Huckabee, Lamar Alexander, Marsha Blackburn and others. The rifle bearing his name is manufactured in Christiana, Tennessee.

   Tennessee is the seventh state to declare an official state firearm of some sort. If the idea of an "official state gun" seems a little strange, that's because it's a recent development. There weren't any state firearms until 2011, when Utah adopted the Browning M1911 pistol as its state gun.

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