Republican Lawmaker Takes Aim at IRS Guns

Today is tax day for most Americans. Some of us have extensions due to natural disasters, but most of you who haven’t already are probably working on your taxes today, and you’re probably thinking about how much you dislike the IRS.

No one likes them.

But something that I’ve always found perplexing is that they have armed IRS agents.

I get that they’re in charge of enforcing the tax code, but they’re still the IRS. They’re not a law enforcement agency, but a revenue collection agency. Their job isn’t to kick in doors and make arrests, so why do they have so many guns?

Well, one lawmaker has introduced a bill to fix that.

U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) introduced the Why Does the IRS Need Guns Act on Monday.

The bill:

• Prohibits the IRS from using appropriated funds to purchase, receive, or store any firearm or ammunition

• Requires the IRS to transfer to the GSA any firearms or ammunition owned or under the control of the IRS

• Within 30 days of transfer, GSA must initiate the sale or auction of any firearms to licensed dealers and the auction of any ammo to the general public

Moore told 1819 News on Monday, “We’re going to try to force them to get rid of the ammunition and weapons they’ve bought since 2020.” 

That’s a solid start.

However, there are a lot of federal agencies that have guns when they probably shouldn’t. I recall one story years ago where a tactical team from the Department of Education showed up at someone’s house regarding student loans. I don’t recall the specifics, but the fact that the Department of Education has a tactical team is more than a little troubling.

NASA and the Department of Energy have those, too, but I get why they have them. Rocket fuel would be beneficial to terrorists, as would sabotaging a nuclear reactor. Having heavily armed personnel on site makes sense for those two agencies.

For most other agencies, though, I don’t see why they need any such thing. If they need a door kicked down, that should fall to the FBI or some other relevant federal law enforcement agency.

So disarming the IRS is a good start, and I hope this bill passes, but I’d rather it be a bit more expansive than that.

While the federal government has spent years trying to disarm the American people, it’s been arming just about every governmental entity it can, which is not how the balance of power is supposed to work in this country. The militarization of federal agencies–agencies that are not law enforcement agencies–is a troubling phenomenon that no one should ever be comfortable with.

Like the man in the comic turned movie said, “People should not be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people.” That’s a lot harder to make happen when even the Department of Education has a heavily-armed tactical team. Especially when our own arms have been neutered by a century of gun control laws.

Starting with the IRS is fine, but the line cannot be allowed to be drawn there. More needs to be done.

Here’s hoping, though.