Who's A 'Cop-Killer'?

As this illustration by Oleg Volk suggests, the Evil Ones who are bent on disarming peaceable Americans face a dilemma.

If they base their prohibitions on weapon type and characteristics, as did the first Federal Assault Weapons Ban, smart manufacturers and gunowners can leapfrog over the legislative language and intent via relatively simple tweaks to firearm and cartridge design. As an example, see Barrett Firearms' response to California's ban on .50 BMG rifles -- the California-legal Barrett .416.

On the other hand, if the Evil Ones' motivation is "law enforcement safety", as they have claimed in their long-standing campaign against "cop-killer bullets", then they must base at least part of their upcoming bans on actual muzzle energy generated by the regulated ammunition. Such a ban would need to be based on current body armor standards, which in turn would require an absolute prohibition on civilian possession and use of all rifle ammunition with ballistics equal to or better than the performance of .308 Winchester 150 grain FMJ (2800 fps/2559 ft. lbs. muzzle; 2582 fps/2176 ft. lbs at 100 yards). Such an energy-based ban (and a subsequent confiscation of all non-compliant ammunition) would be necessary to ensure that most current-issue police body armor would not simply be brushed aside by common deer-hunting and sporting calibers such as .30-06, .223 Remington, and .270 Winchester, let alone the antique military calibers such as .303 British, 7.62x54R Russian, and 8mm Mauser:

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What about protection from RIFLES ?

The much higher velocity of rifle rounds requires HARD Body Armor Rifle Plates – Level III or Level IV Ballistic Steel, Ceramic or Polyethylene - usually ~10" by 12" (~25 by 30 cm.) and generally from 4 to 9 lbs (1.8 - 4.1 kg.) per plate to cover the Chest and / or Back (that's 8 to 18 lbs. Front & Back)

SOFT Body Armor vests only offer pistol, Fragmentation, and shotgun protection (birdshot and buckshot, but NOT shotgun slugs). Even doubling up TWO Level III-A soft vests would NOT stop a rifle bullet!
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Ergo, the hoplophobes' dilemma -- either

- draw the new AWB2 based on weapon type and features, and thus invite a slew of caliber and design modifications done specifically to evade (or, more properly, "ensure compliance with") the legislation;

- ban all calibers capable of penetrating most current-issue police body armor, and drag another 30 million or more gun-owning Americans into the mire formerly reserved for the "right-wing miltia nut-jobs with their damned assault rifles"; or

- do both, in the hopes of exploiting American gunowners' documented gutlessness on freedom issues.

What option do you think this Presidential advisor is going to recommend?

Alea iacta est.