I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking this is just another mis-titled ATF Death Watch post. No no no. The missing guns in question here aren’t the ones the feds intentionally “lost” to the Me-hi-can cartels. No, these are federal employee duty guns that – oopsie! – just seem to have gone missing. Left in bathrooms, on car trunks…whatever. So let’s see…
Between 2006 and 2008, excluding guns that were stolen, the busy little bees at DHS lost – actually lost – 179 guns. That’s about 60 each year. Or more than one a week.
The FBI? They’ve had their problems, too. Between 2002 and 2005, they mislaid 160 or 40 a year. Not as big a ‘shrinkage’ rate as DHS, but not chopped liver, either.
And both agencies have grown significantly in the last few years. One can only guess how many guns have tumbled down the rabbit hole since the government really began growing like topsy in 2008.
There are about 100,000 FFLs in the US. Three guesses what the consequences of this would be if any 1,000 of them lost guns at rates approaching that of DHS and the FBI.
Look, stuff happens. These are people we’re dealing with, after all. No one expects them to be perfect. These are public employees, after all.
What’s so galling, though, is that the same faceless bureaucracies that demand such uncompromising high standards from private sector gun dealers and owners – and that won’t flinch at revoking concealed carry or even ownership rights – can’t seem to uphold those same standards themselves.