Lawmaker: Why Do IRS Agents Train With AR-15s?

June 12, 2013 by Sam Rolley

Representative Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) may have discovered where at least a few of those rounds of ammunition the government is buying massive quantities of is going when he visited the Maryland Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in May: the Internal Revenue Service.

Duncan, chairman of the House Homeland Security oversight subcommittee, said during recent interviews that he wants an explanation from IRS officials about employees of the agency he observed training with AR-15s during his visit.

“While we were sitting there,” Duncan told WYFF4, “the gentleman told them to sling their weapons and load a 30-round magazine into the AR-15s they were training with.”

Upon learning that the marksmen were IRS agents, the lawmaker said he was a little confused as to why the Nation’s tax collectors needed so much firepower.

“Why do IRS law enforcement agents need standoff capability that you would have with a long rifle or with a weapon similar to an AR-15? They’re generally investigating tax evasion, fraud and money laundering. We think of the IRS as an audit agency more than doing the type of law enforcement where they have to use an AR-15.”

The lawmaker, acknowledging that the IRS has an enforcement division, also questions why the agency wouldn’t collaborate with other Federal agencies that are geared more specifically to law enforcement in the event that heavy firepower was needed.

The IRS has issued a statement in response to Duncan’s concerns: “As law enforcement officials, IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agents are equipped similarly to other federal, state and local law enforcement organizations. Special Agents receive training on the appropriate and safe use of assigned weapons. IRS Criminal Investigation has internal controls and oversight in place to ensure all law enforcement tools, including weapons are used appropriately.”

http://personalliberty.com/2013/06/1...n-with-ar-15s/