Friday, March 1, 2013

DHS Censors Information About Firearms Purchase

Controversy surrounding arms build-up grows

Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
March 1, 2013

Amidst continuing controversy over the Department of Homeland Security’s purchase of large quantities of guns and ammunition, the federal agency is getting more secretive about its activity by censoring information about a no-bid contract with Remington for firearms parts.

Despite the fact that documents pertaining to government activity are only supposed to be redacted for national security reasons or if authorized by Congress, a new entry posted on the FedBizOpps website pertaining to the DHS’ plans for a $1.5 million contract with firearms manufacturer Remington contains numerous blacked-out sections.

The document is an explanation of why the DHS has entered into a contract on a basis “other than full and open competition,” in other words a no bid contract. The contract with Remington Arms Company for firearms replacement parts is set to run for five years at a cost not to exceed $1.5 million dollars.

The first censored portion of the document blacks out the precise year by year amount in dollars that the DHS plans to purchase from Remington.


The second censored section blacks out the number of Remington firearms that have been serviced and maintained by the ICE National Firearms and Tactical Training Unit (NFTTU).


The third censored section relates to how the Remington firearms are distributed at state and local levels.


The fourth censored section pertains to the government’s reluctance to purchase a “complete firearms replacement system,” instead of using Remington firearms.


This isn’t the first time the DHS has redacted information related to firearms or bullet purchases.

In August last year, the federal agency classified portions of a document to conceal references to the amount of 223 62 and 223 64 grain ammunition being purchased in another no-bid contract.

The no-bid contract was justified due to an “unusual and compelling urgency” to acquire the bullets, noting that there is a shortage of bullets which is threatening a situation which could cause “substantial safety issues for the government” should law enforcement officials not be adequately armed.

Concerns have been raised about why the DHS is buying ammunition in such large quantities – with the agency committing to purchase roughly 2 billion bullets over the course of the last year, enough to wage a near 30 year war. In September last year, the DHS also bought 7,000 fully automatic assault rifles, labeling them “personal defense weapons”.

Earlier this week, former Governor Sarah Palin raised the subject, warning that the federal government is “stockpiling bullets” in preparation for “civil unrest.”

She was attacked by a raft of leftist websites which claimed the issue had been “debunked,” although the debunking consisted of nothing more than regurgitating DHS statements which claimed the bullets were merely for target practice or that they were bought in bulk to save money.

The so-called “debunking” also failed to answer why most of the ammunition consisted of hollow point bullets, which are expensive and highly unusual to use for target practice.

Apparently, the mainstream media has failed to grasp that concerns about government activity cannot be “debunked” by merely repeating glib statements issued by government officials.

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