Which Federal Agencies Should Be Armed?

By:  Edward Richardson, Berwick, ME, May 6, 2014

America’s federal agencies have a gun control problem!  Does it strike anyone else as suspicious that every federal agency seems to have an armed enforcement division?

I have a solution:  We need to pass gun control legislation for the federal government.

Who should be armed?

Obviously, the military must be armed (and should be allowed to carry on base for self-defense and the defense of their comrades in arms.  Included in this are the Military Police units and the branch related Criminal Investigation sections.

The Border Patrol (USBP), Immigrations, and Customs Enforcement (ICE) need to be armed.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) should be armed if for no other reason than to protect themselves from the crooks.

The Secret Service, the Capitol Police, Park Rangers and the Transportation Security Administration should also be armed.

NO OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES should be armed!  The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) do not need weapons.  In the case of the DHS, we were originally led to believe that it was just going to coordinate between existing Law Enforcement Organizations (LEOs) and be a clearinghouse for the sharing of intelligence data. 

If any agency finds that they need someone investigated, apprehended or defended they should be required to submit a request to the appropriate law enforcement organization (LEO).  If the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) needs to enforce a court order, they should have to go to the FBI, State Police or local Sherriff to request assistance in serving the warrant or enforcing the court order.

This solution keeps the use of arms by the government under strict control to ensure against a tyrannical government covertly raising a secret army outside the limitations of constitutional oversight and limitations.  It also ensure that all supposed “law enforcement” operations are done by trained professionals who know how to get the job done without violating the Constitution, individual rights or State/County laws or ordinances.

This solution also will consolidate the purchasing of arms and ammunition avoiding unnecessary duplication of assets.  There is no reason for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the United States Postal Service (USPS) or the Social Security Administration (SSA) to maintain their own separate security forces.  If they need security guards at their offices, they can put the requirements up for bid and hire civilian security companies to meet their needs.

There may be a few other federal agencies that should be allowed to be armed such as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) or the National Security Administration (NSA) so that they can successfully perform their missions.  I do not claim to know all the agencies of the federal government or the purpose for each, but does anyone doubt whether the Department of Energy (DOE) or the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) need to have armed enforcement divisions?

It is time for “We the people…” to insist that our government exercise gun control!