More dumbass remarks regarding hollow point bullets!! Why can't therse Morons get it right!! Wishful thinking I guess. LOL
Guards at Oyster Creek may get more firepower
Published in the Asbury Park Press 5/30/03
By TOM BALDWIN
GANNETT STATE BUREAU
TRENTON -- The state Senate yesterday looked past recent security problems at the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in Lacey and voted to give more firepower to armed guards there and at plants along the Delaware Bay in South Jersey.
Lawmakers said they wanted to increase security at nuclear facilities because the plants are potential terror targets. Sens. Leonard T. Connors Jr., R-Ocean, and Stephen M. Sweeney, D-Gloucester, sponsored the bill.
The measure, which the Senate passed 38 to 0, with two senators not voting, now goes to the Assembly. If approved there, it would go to Gov. McGreevey for his signature.
The measure would allow guards to carry semiautomatic weapons with expanded ammunition clips. Guards now carry semiautomatics with clips that carry a maximum of 10 rounds.
A semiautomatic allows the shooter to fire rounds as fast as he can repeatedly pull the trigger. Automatics, which have traditionally been used by terrorists overseas, fire a burst with a single pull of a trigger.
The measure also would allow guards to use hollow-point bullets that can pierce bullet-proof vests or other body armor and splatter on impact, usually inflicting more damage than a traditional bullet.
"Firepower is really what the name of the game is," said Connors before the vote. "It will require training of the guards."
But Sen. Robert W. Singer, R-Ocean, said he worried that no matter how much weaponry is given to guards, potential attackers will simply strike with more.
Firearms would be required to be returned each day at the end of the employee's shift and given to a supervisor. All firearms would be stored in locked containers in a secure area.
Employees would be required to pass a state-approved firearms training course.
Not voting were Sen. William Gormley, R-Atlantic, whose aide said he favored the bill but missed the vote, and Sen. Nia Gill, D-Essex, who said later the she opposed the use of hollow-point bullets and was unsure how well the guards would be trained.
New Jersey has nuclear plants on the Atlantic Coast, along Oyster Creek in Lacey, and three outside Salem along the Delaware Bay: Hope Creek, Salem One and Salem Two.
Security lapses at Oyster Creek included guards falling asleep and failing to challenge a video camera person who got within 500 feet of the reactor.
Also, one guard is reported to have pulled a sidearm on another guard during an argument.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
© copyright 2003 Gannett News Service