Watchwoman’s Editorial: [UPDATE 8/18/2012 – 7:15 PM] There’s an UPDATE below that must be read before you get all concerned!!! The NRA is not concerned, so I say, I am not going to get all worked up either!!! I wrote previously – in the early hours this morning while it was still dark outside → I am not an Infowars – Alex Jones fan, far from it, but I don’t believe the explanation from our “transparent” government officials either that they’re trying to lump off on us sheeple with our eyes glazing over caught in the headlights like a dazed deer. Really, you gun guys out there – – – do you believe multiple government agencies are buying hundreds of thousands of rounds of hollow points for target practice as they claim below? So please, let me hear from you. This is about as difficult for me to believe as all Jones’ tales about the Bohemian Grove (Tee Hee). Looking for expert opinion here. 174,000 hollow point rounds divided by 295 agents equals about 600 target practice shots per Social Security agent. Does that sound reasonable to you? How many do policemen shoot off in a month, in a year? Do policemen shoot hollow points for target practice and if they did, would it be that many? ▬ Donna Calvin ▬ Saturday, August 18, 2012
P. S. If you click on the links in the article below, one going to Jones’ Prison Planet web site, the article does sound quite alarming. However, what causes me to raise an eyebrow is not so much that article, but if you click the hyperlink in the article below and go to the Social Security Administration’s web site and read the comments, they have the same questions that I do – and they remain unanswered. If the Social Security Administration wanted to cool down the concern, why aren’t they putting up reasonable answers and explanations? Just asking?????? And my guess is, you are too???
HEADS UP!!!! Watchwoman’s Editorial UPDATE: Below all the speculation of mine above and before the article from the Social Security Department shown below is the latest UPDATE from the National Rifle Association. This may help relieve all my concerns as well as yours that might be developing. This is another reason why I take every thing from Alex Jones with a grain of salt. It may be great for Jones’ ratings, but there’s no reason to speculate without backup and confirmation. ▬ Donna Calvin ▬ Saturday, August 18, 2012 7:15 PM
UPDATE – POSTED BY DONNA CALVIN – 8/18/2012 – 7:15 pm
FROM THE NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION
Federal Law Enforcement Agencies Buy Ammunition
Posted on August 17, 2012 –
You may recently have seen some in the Internet rumor mill feverishly repeating the obvious truth above, in an effort to stir up fear about recent acquisitions of ammunition by the Department of Homeland Security and a number of smaller agencies. The mildest writers have questioned why seemingly mundane agencies would need ammunition at all; more incendiary authors suggest that these government agencies are preparing for a war with the American people.
Much of the concern stems from a lack of understanding of the law enforcement functions carried about by officers in small federal agencies. These agents have the power to make arrests and execute warrants, just like their better-known counterparts at agencies like the FBI.
For instance, the Social Security Administrationsolicited offersfor 174,000 rounds of pistol ammunition. But the agency has 295 special agents who combat Social Security fraud that costs tax payers billionseach year, so the order works out to roughly 590 rounds of ammunition per agent for training, mandatory quarterly qualification shooting and duty use. More than a few NRA members would use that much ammunition in a weekend shooting class or plinking session.
Another recent rumor questioned a request for 46,000 rounds of.40-caliber ammo by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA inadvertently fueled that speculation through a clerical error that suggested the ammunition was destined for the National Weather Service. NOAA later clarified that the ammunition was actually for the little knownFisheries Office of Law Enforcement, which enforces laws against illegal fishing and marine life importation. The ammunition is for 63 personnel, amounting to about 730 rounds per officer.
The most widespread of the recent rumors involves a Department of Homeland Security contract for a maximum of 450 million rounds of .40-caliber jacketed hollow-points, to be supplied over the next five years.
After receiving numerous questions from his constituents regarding the contract, pro-Second Amendment U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.) and his staff set out in search of the truth. In a press release, Rep. Westmoreland’s office explains:
If you take the number of agencies that will be using this ammunition – CBP, Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), ICE, the U.S. Secret Service, Transportation Security Administration, the DHS police force, and all the guards that protect the various buildings these agencies are housed in, and spread that out over 5 years, you start to see that 450 million rounds really isn’t that large of an order. Especially considering it is used for training purposes like firing range and live fire exercises, on-the-job use (though that is very limited), and to shore up their supplies. In fact, there are 65,000 – 70,000 law enforcement personnel at DHS who would be covered under this … ammunition contract. If DHS were to purchase all 450 million rounds over 5 years, then that would equate to only about 1,384 rounds of ammo per year per law enforcement [officer] … assuming the lower estimate of only 65,000 law enforcement personnel at DHS. Considering those agents go through training exercises several times per year, that is not a lot of ammunition.
Perhaps most strangely, some have cited the purchase of hollow-point ammunition as evidence of the federal government’s evil motives. Hollow-points are the defensive ammunition of choice for federal, state and local law enforcement officers across the country, just as they are for private citizens. These attacks are eerily similar to statements made by gun prohibitionists, who spent the much of the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s complaining about “dum dum” bullets. (In fact, the Violence Policy Center’s website still exhibits a publication lamenting that federal ammunition law “has no effect on today’s generation of high-tech hollow-point ammunition.”) The attacks also ignore the fact that federal agents, unlike average taxpayers on more limited budgets, normally train and qualify with their duty ammunition.
As most gun owners will agree, skepticism of government is healthy. But today, there are more than enough actual threats to the Second Amendment to keep gun owners busy. With two key Supreme Court decisions hanging by a one-vote margin, the Justice Department deeply involved in a cover-up of a disastrous Mexican gun smuggling operation, and President Obama touting a ban on popular semi-automatic firearms, there is no need to invent additional threats to our rights.
________________________________
Obscure federal agencies triggered a firestorm of conspiracy theories this week after they put out orders for thousands of rounds of deadly hollow-point bullets.
But the agencies, most recently the Social Security Administration, are trying to put a damper on the speculation — noting the ammunition is “standard issue” and simply used for mandatory federal training sessions.
“Our special agents need to be armed and trained appropriately,” said a message on the official blog for Social Security’s inspector general office
explaining the purchases.
The bullet purchases drew widespread attention as the website Infowars.com published several stories on them that were linked off the widely read Drudge Report and other sites. Infowars.com catalogued a string of recent purchases — first by the Department of Homeland Security, then by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and then the Social Security Administration.
The Social Security Administration solicitation, posted Aug. 7, called for 174,000 rounds of “.357 Sig 125 grain bonded jacketed hollow point pistol ammunition.”
Infowars.com speculated that the purchases were being made in preparation for “civil unrest,” imagining a scenario of economic collapse where seniors could cause “disorder” if denied their Social Security benefits.
But the Social Security Administration statement, posted Thursday, noted that their agents need firearms and ammo in the course of training, investigations and responding to threats against offices and employees.
“As we said in a recent post, our office has criminal investigators, or special agents, who are responsible for investigating violations of the laws that govern SSA’s programs,” the office said.
The agency said it has 295 special agents across 66 offices in the country. “These investigators have full law enforcement authority, including executing search warrants and making arrests,” the statement said.
As for concern about the type of bullets — hollow points, which expand upon impact — the statement said the type is “standard issue” and is used during “mandatory quarterly firearms qualifications and other training sessions.”
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, found itself scrambling to respond to a similar report this week about an order for 46,000 rounds of ammo. Though the agency initially indicated it was for the National Weather Service — leading to questions about why the National Weather Service could possibly need so many bullets — a spokesman clarified the bullets are actually meant for the NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement. A “clerical error” resulted in the order saying the ammo was for the weather service.
Spokesman Scott Smullen said the error’s been fixed in the bidding system. He, too, said the ammo is “standard issue” and will be used by 63 enforcement personnel at NOAA during qualifications and training sessions.
“NOAA officers and agents enforce the nation’s ocean and fishing laws to ensure a level playing field for fishermen and to protect marine species like whales, dolphins and turtles,” he said.
According to NOAA, the specialized agents are supposed to have 200 rounds in their “duty bag,” and qualification and training requires another 500-600 rounds per agent.
Published August 17, 2012
FoxNews.com
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