BELLEVUE, WA – The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today promptly applauded Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst’s introduction of legislation to prohibit the Internal Revenue Service from arming its agents
Ernst is calling her measure the “Why Does the IRS Have Guns Act.”
“That’s really a very good question,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “Why has the IRS spent millions of dollars on weapons and ammunition since the start of the coronavirus pandemic three years ago? According to a published report, the agency spent $2.3 million on ammunition, another $1.2 million on ballistic shields, $243,000 on body armor, nearly $475,000 on Smith & Wesson rifles and $463,000 on Beretta tactical shotguns.
“One has to wonder whether IRS agents are working for the taxpayers, or preparing to go to war against them,” he mused. “The worst thing people should ever face from the IRS is an audit, not a firing squad.”
Ernst’s legislation will prevent the IRS from buying, selling or storing firearms and ammunition 120 days after enactment, and require the IRS commissioner to transfer guns and ammunition to the General Services Administration where it would be auctioned off to federally-licensed firearms dealers to help bring down the federal deficit.
“Unfortunately,” Gottlieb quipped, “contributions to the Citizens Committee to support this legislation are not tax deductible. On the plus side, this means making a donation won’t trigger an IRS audit.
“American taxpayers feel intimidated enough by the IRS without facing the prospect of armed agents coming to our doors,” he observed. “What is truly alarming is that this has been going on for years, at the cost of more than $35 million since 2006. However, over the past couple of years, it appears the Biden administration has literally weaponized the agency, and the American public should not be amused. Disarming the IRS will make us all feel safer, and we’re delighted Sen. Ernst is willing to do something about it.”
With more than 650,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (www.ccrkba.org) is one of the nation’s premier gun rights organizations. As a non-profit organization, the Citizens Committee is dedicated to preserving firearms freedoms through active lobbying of elected officials and facilitating grass-roots organization of gun rights activists in local communities throughout the United States.
