Obama's Gun Control Agenda.. and Law Enforcement

[Trent]

Paging Law Enforcement and Public Officials!

I got to thinking tonight while reloading.

Something I haven't seen discussed on here yet since Sandy Hook, is how the Obama administration gun control agenda is affecting (or will affect) Law Enforcement.

#1 Is the shortage of AR-15's and parts for AR-15's currently causing issues with procurement of rifles?

#2 Is the shortage of 223 ammunition and the incredibly high price curtailing Law Enforcement training plans for 2013 (and possibly beyond)? At $1 a shot, training just got REAL expensive. I know the Military has their own dedicated facility (LC) running full time, but Law Enforcement buys commercial ammo.

#3 Is the high price of magazines also affecting Law Enforcement in obtaining replacements or additional magazines for rifles?

#4 Long term, if AR-15's and high capacity magazines are restricted from civilian ownership, wouldn't this significantly increase the costs of law enforcement gear and equipment? Without the massive amounts bought by civilians, it would seem that prices would gradually rise quite a lot.

 

[buckeye8]

I'm not LEO, but LEO's would be doing us all a disservice by even discussing #4 on your list. We need LEO's to stand by us, not ponder their own future separately from ours.

Not bothered by your first three questions, as they are just curiousities. But #4 reeks of the 'us versus them' mindset, and only serves to buttress the 'divide and conquer' tactics of our political foes.

LEO's: Stand beside us, and leave no gaps.

 

[Zardaia]

Don't the big name makers have departments just for mil/leo sales? Guessing it may hurt some small departments that buy regular retail, but i doubt it'd be very painful for larger contracts.

 

[armoredman]

Last time I looked in the armory, the 5.56mm and 7.62x51 stuff was stacked pretty deep, with far more 5.56mm, as in 20-30K rounds, IIRC. That will hold for a while. After that, well, they'll probably stop qualifying so many people on the rifle for tower duty.

 

[flatlander937]

It's already happened with ammo availability(or lack thereof):

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/public-safety-agencies-facing-ammo-shortage/nTqgG/

 

[Jenrick]

Short answer:
1) Yes, particularly if the agency doesn't issue one, and officers have to purchase there own.
2) Yes. Most agencies don't issue anything but duty ammo, so to practice and even qualify you have to provide your own.
3) Yes. See #1
4) For almost every agency that not's large (NYC, Dallas, LA, etc) and individual officers Yes. Large agencies however do usually have pretty good procurement contracts, as they buy as much as most (if not more) then most Federal agencies do.

-Jenrick

 

[HorseSoldier]

#1) In my department, outside of SWAT, officers provide their own patrol carbines as long as they pass the qual course for that weapon. So at the organization level, it's not an issue, though it may be effecting some of our newer officers who are recently eligible to augment their issued handguns and shotguns with a patrol carbine.

#2) I don't know, pretty far out of my lane, but I think that we budget and procure ammunition far enough out that the recent surge likely has not had an impact yet. If it goes on long enough that might change.

#3) Same general issue as #1. Magazines are resourced by the officers for any ARs carried, and I haven't heard any major problems or issues, though it may be impacting individuals.

#4) I don't think magazine prices for standard 30 round USGI magazines would change much so long as the US military is also purchasing them in bulk. Items not in bulk procurement by the US military, to include non .mil issued rifles themselves, could certainly see a rise in prices. The other issue is that the civilian AR market, as well as three gun and other competitive shooting, has led to a lot of development of the AR and its accessories that the military and law enforcement have since adopted, without having to pay anything for the R&D, etc. If the AR market is hurt sufficiently bad, that will all go away, even if base cost for rifles themselves to law enforcement isn't significantly changed.