Mac 10 Called “Most Powerful” by Daily Mail

We regularly hear that the British have strict gun laws, and while we respect the venerable Fleet Street newspapers, we have to question whoever fact checked a recent article for the Daily Mail that included this passage:

“These shocking images show a teenage girl posing with a replica of one of the world’s most powerful machine guns as she fulfils her dream of becoming a gangster’s moll.”

This was for an article titled, “Facebook girl jailed after posing with machine gun as mobster’s moll.” First, we should stress that this is a tragic story, while the young woman posed with a replica gun for her Facebook page, this wasn’t what actually resulted in her arrest – despite the badly worded headline. She actually did get caught up in a gang culture, which resulted in her incarnation.

But what is worrisome is the tone of the article regarding guns, and the misinformation it sends about guns. What do you think qualifies as the “world’s most powerful machine gun.” Did this crazy girl pose with a .50 caliber Browning machine gun? Or maybe a Vladimirov KPV-14.5 heavy machine gun? We were intrigued, but this was quite a let down, as the article adds:

“Chloe Goodman was 17 when she posed with the replica Mac 10 in what looks like a school locker room as a friend stands back-to-back with her brandishing a similar firearm.”

While the Mac 10 is no joke, it is hardly a powerful machine gun.