Imagine Lois Lerner with an AR-15

by Michael Cork, Esq.

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In an environment in which the federal government seems intent on restricting or removing private citizens' Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, federal agencies have been acquiring "arrest-and-firearm" authority and arming themselves to the teeth. There are fifteen federal agencies (known as "departments") that fall under the authority of the executive branch. (Can you name them?) And many sub-agencies also exist. You might expect the Department of Defense to have "arrest and firearm" authority. But guess how many other federal agencies possess that authority and weapons to back it up?

While on vacation recently, I caught-up on some reading. One op-ed piece from the Wall Street Journal really grabbed my attention. It was co-authored by Tom Coburn, a physician and former U.S. Senator from Oklahoma, and Adam Andrzejewski, founder and CEO of OpenTheBooks.com, a repository of public spending records. (Coburn is the honorary chairman of OpenTheBooks.com.) See Tom Coburn and Adam Andrzejewski, Why Does the IRS Need Guns?  The Wall Street Journal, June 17, 2016.

​The authors operate an organization called American Transparency. On June 17th, they released an oversight report cataloging federal agencies' purchases of firearms and related equipment. Their op-ed piece notes the following:

• In 1996, the number of non-Defense Department federal "officers" with "arrest and firearm" authority was 74,500.
• Today the number of non-Defense Department federal "officers" with "arrest and firearm" authority exceeds 200,000—eclipsing the number of United States Marines—182,000. The IRS has 2,316 special agents. The Department of Veterans Affairs has 3,700 law-enforcement officers for the purpose of guarding VA Medical Centers. And the Food and Drug Administration has 183 armed "special agents."
• Between 2005 and 2014, 67 federal agencies with "arrest and firearm" authority, but no connection to the Defense Department, have spent $1.48 billion on firearms, ammunition, and other military equipment. Those agencies include, but are not limited to, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the Education Department, the Energy Department, the National Institute of Standards, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Small Business Administration, the Smithsonian Institute, the Social Security Administration, and the U.S. Mint.
• For the same nine-year period, the Environmental Protection Agency spent $3.1 million on firearms, ammo, and other military equipment; the IRS spent over $10 million on similar items; and the VA spent $11.66 million—including over $200,000 on night-vision equipment, and $2.3 million on body armor.
• My personal favorite is the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, which spent $4.77 million on shotguns, buckshot for the same, .308 caliber rifles, night-vision goggles, propane and LP gas cannons, liquid explosives, pyro supplies, drones, helicopters, thermal cameras, and military waterproof thermal infrared scopes. (Any Animal and Plant Health Inspector worth his or her salt needs one of those.)

Who are these bureaucrats going to engage in battle? Us? Who trains them? Anyone? As Messrs. Coburn and Andrzejewski correctly note, police power is vested in the states. Compared to the federal firepower being stockpiled, the legal purchase of a semi-automatic rifle by a private citizen does not seem so ominous.

This article is intended for informational purposes only and should not be treated or interpreted as legal advice. For specific advice, contact the attorney of your choice.