When a semi-automatic weapon is in the hands of the average law-abiding citizen, they are, so I’m told, Very Bad Things and should be gotten rid of. But when they are in the hands of government types… why, crank ’em up to full auto!
Personal Defense Weapons Solicitation
Office: Immigration & Customs Enforcement
Huh. 5.56mm? Why, that’s the same ammo that goes into the AR-15 Murder Machine, which I’ve been informed is not appropriate for “personal defense.” And yet Homeland security seems to think that full-auto version are fantastic for self defense. Hmmm. Maybe I’ve misunderstood the rather basic info on the solicitation web page. Let’s see what the actual RFP has to say:
1.0 SCOPE
The scope of this contract is to provide a total of up to 7,000 5.56x45mm North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) personal defense weapons (PDW) throughout the life of this contract to numerous Department of Homeland Security components.
Hmmm. But surely they don’t mean the 5.56mm ammo of evil repute, that nobody goes hunting with, and which is solely used for murder?
ANSI/SAAMI Z299.4-1992: Voluntary Industry Performance Standards for Pressure & Velocity of Centerfire Rifle Sporting Ammunition for the Use of Commercial Manufacturers
“Sporting Ammunition?”
And then:
3.1 General. DHS and its components have a requirement for a 5.56x45mm NATO, select-fire firearm suitable for personal defense use in close quarters and/or when maximum concealment is required.
“Close quarters?’ But surely they don’t mean within buildings. You can’t use an AR-15 for self defense in your *house,*, it’ll blow through the wall, through the school next door and halfway through that bus full of nuns and doe-eyed orphans!
3.9.10 The action shall be capable of accepting all standard NATO STANAG 20 and 30 round M16 magazines (NSN 1005-00-921-5004) and Magpul 30 round PMAG (NSN 1005-01-576-5159).
A thirty round magazine??? As Piers Morgan would bleat, “Why do you need a 30-round clip for your murder machine?”
Surely this call for government agents to be equipped with fully automatic assault weapons must be a fluke, right? Right?
According to the Huffington Post:
(Feinstein’s gun-grab bill) exempts more than 2,200 hunting and sporting weapons; any gun manually operated by a bolt, pump, lever or slide action; any weapons used by government officials and law enforcement; and any weapons legally owned as of the date of the bill’s enactment.
Note: Diane Feinstein is a “government official.”
So… once again it’s clear: one rule of law for you, another quite different one for them.