Or why the FDA needs ballistic vests.Īs concerned Americans study the numbers in the watchdog audit, many are asking why the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) spent $200,000 on body armor during the Obama administration, or for what reason the Zoo Police at the Smithsonian Institution spent $28,000 for body armor during the fiscal year 2012.Ĭhildren and adults alike are taught to view police as the “good guys.” However, America’s local police force is increasingly being militarized. "But today, there are more than enough actual threats to the Second Amendment to keep gun owners busy.The massive expenditures by agencies which are supposed to be administrative by nature have many people asking why, for instance, the Department of Veterans Affairs would need riot helmets, body armor, Kevlar blankets, and tactical gear. "As most gun owners will agree, skepticism of government is healthy," the group concluded. According to the DHS, 80 percent of the ammunition it purchases goes to training.Įven the NRA has distanced itself from such conspiracy claims, saying last August that such rumors were no more than "an effort to stir up fear about recent acquisitions of ammunition." When the ammo inquiries first began, a Homeland Security spokesperson noted in a statement that "DHS routinely establishes strategic sourcing contracts" for things like ammo and computer equipment, because the agency can secure much lower prices by buying in bulk.Īs Raw Story's Megan Carpentier notes, the department trains thousands of law enforcement personnel across many agencies and levels of government, so it needs a large ammo repository. Moreover, the government has been purchasing ammo for years, and this falls in line with its past expenditures. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said the department "found it so inherently unbelievable that those statements would be made it was hard to ascribe credibility to them." Homeland Security has more or less laughed off the suggestions. "So what are they going to do if they want to, if they want to violate our Second Amendment rights? Do it with ammo." "We just denied everything that this president and the vice president are trying to do," he said. On Monday, Inhofe reiterated his concern in a radio interview with Laura Ingraham. "One way the Obama administration is able to do this is by limiting what's available in the market with federal agencies purchasing unnecessary stockpiles of ammunition."Ĭalled the Ammunition Management for More Obtainability Act of 2013 (AMMO), the legislation would require the government to report on its ammo reserves, and prevent it from making additional purchases past a certain threshold. "President Obama has been adamant about curbing law-abiding Americans' access and opportunities to exercise their Second Amendment rights," said Inhofe. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) introduced legislation in both chambers of Congress last week that would place limits on DHS' ammo-buying capacity. If the government couldn't take away guns, it would just take away ammo instead, the theory went. Other lawmakers posited a slightly different theory: The government, uncertain whether new gun laws would prevail in Congress, had authorized the purchases to remove ammo from shelves. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) said in a separate hearing that the rampant theorizing had reached a point where "the numbers cease to become internet rumors and they start having some credibility." And though he stopped short of fully embracing the "secret army" theory, Rep. Jim Jordan (Ohio) and Jason Chaffetz (Utah), lent the conspiracies more credibility, holding a joint hearing to demand answers. Then last week, two Republican lawmakers, Reps. The conspiracies popped up on more mainstream Republican-leaning outlets like Fox News and the Daily Caller, albeit typically in a less alarmist vein.
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