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Thom, a .50 caliber sniper rifle, I would venture, is no more dangerous than many other weapons, and rather, even less dangerous than many other guns. A "sniper rifle" is going to be bolt action, so it will be slow to load in comparison with semi-automatic weapon. Also, the gun will be long and heavy, and to be stereotypical, it will have a high powered scope. It will be slow to find and zero in on targets. It will be hard to carry and move. It would be clumsier to use than something like a 30-30, 30-06, or even .22 Hornet. So there is no reason to really outlaw .50 caliber "sniper rifles" because they wouldn't be widely used, rather, they would just be impractical even to some lunatic who might decide to become a sniper.
EDIT: I'd also guess the velocity of the bullet is lower than a comparable smaller caliber rifle, so it may even be less powerful (recall KE=mv^2).
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