'Not the Number of Bullets We Need to Worry About,
But Number of Feds With Guns'
But Number of Feds With Guns'
Drew Zahn, WND — What do non-military federal agencies need with 2 billion rounds of ammunition?While speculation abounds over the federal government’s recent binge on bullets, gun organizations like the National Rifle Association have told WND the purchases are perfectly consistent with the total number of armed officers in the government’s various agencies – a fact some, however, say is downright intimidating.
“It’s not the number of bullets we need to worry about,” said Jeff Knox, director of The Firearms Coalition, “but the number of feds with guns it takes to use those bullets.”
“I don’t think it’s a dark conspiracy,” added Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, “I just don’t understand the need for all that firepower.”
For years, WND has been at the forefront of reporting the growth in federal police power being dispersed across dozens of government agencies:
• In 1997, WND blew the lid off 60,000 federal agents enforcing over 3,000 criminal laws, a report that prompted Larry Pratt of Gun Owners of America to remark, “Good grief, that’s a standing army. … It’s outrageous.”[...]
• Also in 1997, as part of a ongoing series on the militarization of the federal government, WND reported on the armed, “environment crime” cops employed by the Environmental Protection Agency and a federal law enforcement program that had trained 325,000 prospective federal police since 1970.
• WND also reported on thousands of armed officers in the Inspectors’ General office and a gun-drawn raid on a local flood control center to haul off 40 boxes of … paperwork.
• WND further reported on a plan by then Delaware Sen. Joe Biden to hire hundreds of armed Hong Kong policemen into dozens of U.S. federal agencies to counter Asian organized crime in America.
• In 1999, WND CEO Joseph Farah warned there were more than 80,000 armed federal law enforcement agents, constituting “the virtual standing army over which the founding fathers had nightmares.” Today, that number has nearly doubled.
• Also in 1999 WND reported plans made for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, to use military and police forces to deal with Y2K.
• In 2000, Farah discussed a Justice Department report on the growth of federal police agents under President Clinton, something Farah labeled “the biggest arms buildup in the history of the federal government – and it’s not taking place in the Defense Department.”
• A 2001 report warned of a persistent campaign by the Department of the Interior, this time following 9/11, to gain police powers for its agents.
• In 2008, WND reported on proposed rules to expand the military’s use inside U.S. borders to prevent “environmental damage” or respond to “special events” and to establish policies for “military support for civilian law enforcement.”
• Most recently, WND reported that while local police have found themselves short of necessary ammunition, the federal government has been stockpiling billions of rounds for its non-military, non-FBI law enforcement officers.
Give all those federal cops two billion bullets, Jeff Knox says, and now there’s cause for concern.
Radio host Michael Savage listed one more factor on his program last week, citing not only the rise in federal acquisition of guns and ammunition, but also the simultaneous effort by the Obama administration to place more restrictions on private gun ownership.
“If you want to get paranoid, Obama can really help you in your work,” Savage continued. “Why would the Department of Homeland Security have purchased 1.6 billion rounds of hollow-point ammunition over the last 10 months at the same time they’re trying to disarm the average American citizen?” Additional research by Alyssa Farah. » Read More
Savage’s comments can be heard below:
» WND
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About the Author
Drew Zahn is a former pastor who cut his editing teeth as a member of the award-winning staff of Leadership, Christianity Today's professional journal for church leaders. He is the editor of seven books, including Movie-Based Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching, which sparked his ongoing love affair with film and his weekly WND column, "Popcorn and a (world)view."
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