U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-AL) has introduced a bill to disarm Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents.
The bill is called the Why Does the IRS Need Guns Act. It would prohibit the IRS from using appropriated funds to purchase, receive, or store any firearm or ammunition. The IRS would have to transfer guns or ammunition it controls to the General Services Administration (GSA). All firearms transferred to the GSA must be sold or auctioned off to federal firearms licensees (FFL), and all ammunition must be sold to the general public within 30 days.
According to a report by OpenTheBooks, during the COVID pandemic, the IRS went on a 50-state hiring spree to hire armed special agents with arrest powers. Between 2020 and 2021, the agency purchased $10 million in firearms and gear. This figure included $2.3 million spent on ammunition, 1.2 million for ballistic riot shields, $474,000 on Smith & Wesson M&P 15 rifles, $463,000 on Beretta 1301 tactical shotguns, and $243,000 for body armor. These items were in addition to the 621 shotguns, 539 rifles, 5 million rounds of ammo, and 15 submachine guns. The IRS already had. If the bill is passed, those items will eventually reach civilians’ hands, with the exception of the machine guns.
The IRS’s law enforcement branch is known as the Criminal Investigation (CI) division. The IRS-CI is responsible for tackling financial crimes such as money laundering, tax-related identity theft, and terrorist financing efforts. This division has the only employees that are allowed to carry firearms. The bill would disarm all these agents.
“They bought protective armor for their agents and all. This was shortly after the Inflation Reduction Act passed which hired 87,000 new IRS agents under Nancy Pelosi. As I was out doing my town halls in 2021, the number one concern was the weaponization of government. The fear was palpable because they arrested a lot of January 6 people, the elections were in question. The fact that we were going to arm IRS agents who really just have civil responsibilities…if it’s a criminal issue it’s to go over to the DOJ because these agencies have been weaponized,” Moore, a Freedom Caucus member, said. “Our thoughts are: why in the world do IRS agents, the 87,000 new agents, need body armor, weapons, and the storage of ammunition. That’s the kind of thing that concerns my voters, it concerns many people across the country. So we’re like, ‘No, we’re not just going to allow them to stockpile $10 million worth of (armor, weapons, and ammunition)’…which is what they’ve bought since 2020 and have that as some sort of another armed agency for the federal government.“
The bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives in the past but failed to make it to the floor for a vote. Rep Moore is hopeful about getting the bill to the House floor for a vote. Even if it does make it through the House, it faces certain doom in the Senate, where a super-majority is needed to pass anything. Republicans do not have the votes to get it to the President’s desk, even if all the members voted for it, which is unlikely.
About John Crump
Mr. Crump is an NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people from all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons, follow him on X at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.
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