Tennessee to Make Barrett Model M82/M107 The Official State Rifle

By Robert Farago

“A resolution designating the Barrett Model M82/M107 as Tennessee’s official state rifle was approved in the House last year 74-9 with a smattering of vocal bipartisan opposition — under sponsorship of Rep. Micah Van Huss, R-Jonesborough, a Marine veteran who carried the weapon during a tour of duty in Iraq,” knoxnews,.com reports. “It was unanimously approved in the Senate State and Local Government Committee last week with Sen. Richard Briggs, R-Knoxville, hailing the gun as one that has saved lives of both American soldiers and innocent civilians even though it’s widely known as a ‘sniper rifle.’” Even though? And why not . . .

the Tennessee long rifle?

For those unfamiliar with the firearm, click here for an excellent paper on the subject by Robin C. Hale. Suffice it to say, the Tennessee rifle was the peer of the more widely known “Kentucky rifle.” The built-in-Tennessee versions helped the state’s earliest settlers survive in the wilderness and spread throughout the Rockies. Well worth recognition.

It seems politics is at play (shocking, I know) in the selection of the .50 cal Barrett.

One objection raised in the House was that the proposal — — <a class="colorbox" href="http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/109/Bill/HJR0231.pdf" …Read the Rest

Source:: Truth About Guns