by Leo Hohmann, Leo Hohmann:
Senator Joni Ernst, Republican of Iowa, introduced a bill last week which she has labeled in the form of a question: Her bill is called the “Why does the IRS Have Guns Act?”
“Why do paper-pushing tax collectors at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) need guns?” she asks on her website. “That’s the $35 million-dollar question.”
She says Americans should be “gravely concerned” that the IRS is armed, loaded, and coming after them. Especially given the agency’s history of conducting armed raids on innocent Americans.
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Her bill would prohibit the IRS from buying or warehousing guns and ammunition. It would also require the IRS to transfer all firearms to the General Services Administration, where they could be auctioned off to licensed gun dealers with the proceeds used to reduce the national debt. Further, the bill would move the IRS’s Criminal Investigation Division under the control of the Justice Department.
Senator Ernst said in a statement posted to her website:
“The taxman is fully loaded at the expense of the taxpayer. As the Biden administration has worked to expand the size of the IRS, any further weaponization of this federal agency against hardworking Americans and small businesses is a grave concern. I’m working to disarm the IRS and return these dollars to address reckless spending in Washington.”
Let’s be honest. Ernst’s legislation has a slim chance of passing, and even if it did, it would be dead on arrival (no pun intended) when it hits Joe Biden’s desk.
However, as Ammoland.com reports, the senator’s efforts have drawn much-needed attention to the massive arsenal that the IRS continues to amass.
The IRS is clearly preparing for a major battle. The question is, with whom? And why? We may have received a small taste of what have planned for us a couple of weeks ago when 20 heavily armed IRS and ATF agents raided a gun shop in Montana and collected records containing personal data on American gun purchasers.
Some of the weapons and tactical equipment in the IRS inventory are used by elite military commandos worldwide, not American law enforcement officers.
While the IRS was already arming up before Biden took office, the militarization of the tax agency really revved up after he took office.
“Who are they preparing to battle?” asked Adam Andrzejewski, CEO and Founder of OpenTheBooks.com, the largest private repository of U.S. public-sector spending. Andrzejewski’s watchdog efforts have led to federal legislation, grand jury indictments, congressional hearings, subpoenas and convictions, as well as audits by the Government Accountability Office and Congressional Research Service reports.
“It looks like it’s for domestic tax and law enforcement objectives, but the IRS has blurred the lines between civil and administrative agencies, civil and administrative duties and federal law enforcement capability. After grabbing legal power, the IRS is amassing firepower. It’s time to scale back the federal arsenal,” Andrzejewski told the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project.
In one recent report, Andrzejewski found that the IRS has spent $35.2 million taxpayer dollars on guns, ammunition and tactical gear since 2006, but the agency’s purchasing increased dramatically under Biden.
“The years 2020 and 2021 were peak years at the IRS for purchasing weaponry and gear. Just since the pandemic started, the IRS has purchased $10 million in weaponry and gear,” the report states.
According to Lee Williams at Ammoland.com, the purchases included:
- $2.5 million on ballistic shields and various other gear for criminal investigation agents
- $1.3 million for tactical lights, tactical gear bags, ballistic helmets and body armor
- Nearly $1 million on Smith & Wesson M&P 15s and Beretta tactical shotguns.
- 3,000 tactical holsters for handguns with optical sights and weapon lights (As of this week, the IRS only has 2,100 armed agents.)
Williams notes that all this military hardware is being shipped to the IRS at a time when the agency is openly recruiting people who won’t hesitate to train their sights on a fellow American.
In a recent job posting, the agency says special agent candidates, “must be willing to use force up to and including the use of deadly force.”
Below is a partial list of some of the agency’s most disturbing recent purchases, as reported by Williams and Ammoland.
Night Vision Rifle Scopes
American law enforcement – even the IRS – does not operate with Rules of Engagement like the military when it encounters armed resistance. The last time law enforcement used ROE rather than the law, things went very wrong. Whatever the tactical situation, police are subject to criminal laws and deadly force policies, which are predicated upon the sanctity of human life.
Force – up to and including deadly force – must be reasonable. An American law enforcement officer must use the minimum amount of force necessary and can use deadly force in defense of their life or the life of another. Verbal warnings and other de-escalation attempts are always considered after deadly force is used to determine whether the force was justified.
That said, it’s difficult to understand why the IRS is equipping its agents with night vision rifle scopes, which are capable of hitting man-sized targets at distance in total darkness.
How does shooting a suspect who is hundreds of yards away and unaware of an agent’s presence – at night, without warning – comply with use-of-force statutes and policies? How is this not murder? What tactical problem are the night vision rifle scopes intended to resolve?
Ballistic Shields
When the threat level is extreme, such as a report of an active shooter, SWAT teams will deploy a ballistic shield, which is designed to complement their personal body armor and further reduce the threat.
Ballistic shields come in all shapes and sizes and are rated by bullet resistance. A Level II shield will stop 9mm and other handgun rounds. A level IV shield will stop .30 caliber armor-piercing ammunition. The greater the bullet resistance, the heavier the shield. Operators must train constantly to carry the shield and shoot a pistol one-handed. It’s awkward and requires a lot of practice.
The Los Angeles Police Department has guidelines concerning the use of ballistic shields. Officers must first pass a Ballistic Shield Operator course before they can carry one into harm’s way. The course specifies the type of tactical situations where a ballistic shield should be deployed. They include but are not limited to the following:
