Sig Sauer is churning out the new rifle for the United States Army. Since they also provide the military with their sidearms, this is big for them.

There are a lot of people who will buy the civilian-legal version of any weapon made for the military because they’re trusting of the military’s vetting process for some reason. Others just think it’s cool.

Either way, it’s perfectly legal.

Yet some in the media are already freaking out because Sig has rolled out the civilian version of the new Army rifle.

A gun company is marketing a powerful new rifle to civilians, a report says, amid ongoing debates about gun control following a string of deadly mass shootings.

SIG Sauer’s MCX-Spear is the civilian version of the US Army’s NGSW-R (Next Generation Squad Weapon-Rifle), The Daily Beast reported.

The company said that the gun was “the most innovative and advanced AR platform in the world,” which is a “near match” to its NGSW-R submission, which won the contract for the US Army program this year.

“The MCX-Spear was developed with direct input from US warfighters to provide more power, distance, and accuracy to replace the current M4 rifle platform,” the company’s website says.

He added that the gun is chambered in 277 SIG Fury, the commercial variant of the 6.8 x 51 hybrid military round available in the company’s hybrid case technology submitted to the US Army NGSW program, per the company website.

“The revolutionary SIG FURY ammunition is the most technically advanced leap in smalls arms ammunition in over 150 years, this turns your intermediate rifle platform into magnum performance without the added weight or length while still using 20-round magazines,” Cohen said.

The gun can tear through body armor at extended ranges, according to The Daily Beast.

Of course, let’s be realistic for a second. Body armor isn’t proof against all rounds. There’s a reason there are levels for various kinds of armor. The average hunting rifle can tear through most body armor, after all.

As such, there’s nothing particularly dangerous about this particular firearm.

Yet the anti-gun hysteria reigns supreme in the media. They’re panicking because a civilian might be able to have this powerful weapon.

Uh…guys? I’ve got a surplus rifle from around World War I that can rip through most body armor on the market today, particularly those worn by law enforcement. Hell, most of the rifles used in World War I and II would punch through police body armor without much issue.

Seriously, rifles are more powerful than handguns, but police typically get shot at by people with pistols, so their body armor is optimized for that. It won’t stop most rifle rounds because it’s not designed to do so.

Sig’s new rifle is more powerful, sure, but at around $4,500, you’re not likely to see a bunch in criminals’ hands anytime soon.

What you will see are law-abiding people picking these up and using them for lawful purposes, including possibly hunting. The power available from the Sig rifle may be significant, but it’s not game-changing from a law-enforcement perspective.

And you only think that if you know nothing about guns, body armor, or anything related to those topics, which is why the media shouldn’t be trusted on these issues. Ignorance of this caliber (pun fully intended) shouldn’t be rewarded with your trust.