ATK secures .40 caliber ammo contract with Department of Homeland Security & ICE

And, at first blush, this isn't even a story. An ammunition manufacturer fulfilling a contract with the United States government? While we still have military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan? Big deal. Move on. Nothing to see here.

Except that there is everything to see here.

From MarketWatch at the Wall Street Journal:

--ATK Wins Five-Year, Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity Contract for .40 Caliber Ammunition from DHS, ICE --Additional .40 Caliber Ammunition Contract with 450 Million Round Potential Demonstrates ATK's Leadership in Ammunition Manufacturing

ANOKA, Minn., March 12, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- ATK ATK -0.33% announced that it is being awarded an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) agreement from the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (DHS, ICE) for .40 caliber ammunition. This contract features a base of 12 months, includes four option years, and will have a maximum volume of 450 million rounds.

ATK was the incumbent and won the contract with its HST bullet, which has proven itself in the field. The special hollow point effectively passes through a variety of barriers and holds its jacket in the toughest conditions. HST is engineered for 100-percent weight retention, limits collateral damage, and avoids over-penetration.

All well and good, yes? Except, in this instance, let's attempt to apply what I have historically called "the logical extension."

Why 450,000,000 rounds? And why in .40 caliber? For the US government?

Let's make some things clear up front: this delivery isn't for the US military. These rounds will not be going to Iraq or Afghanistan or to any US military forces.

Because, number one, the Geneva Convention forbids hollow-point ammunition in war.

And, number two, the .40 caliber round is a somewhat common civilian law enforcement stock for those departments, in my opinion, too timid to approve a .44 or .45 caliber round and handgun.

Meaning: this contract is fulfilling a perceived federal government need for stocking its civilian forces, and not its military.

The military predominantly uses .9mm for its M9 Berettas (the perennial NATO round, adopted for the US in 1985), 5.56 for its current M4s, .308 and .50 cal for MGs and specialty long guns. The .40 caliber round is not approved, utilized or endemic in the US military. At all. Save for some very "special" units whose operators may personally wish to go there. But they don't need 450 million rounds. There aren't that many operators who embrace the .40 cal.

That said, this ATK order is for the civilian portion of the US government. Plain and simple.

There is only one purpose for this round. Let me make this quite clear: to be used against the American public. Not on foreign enemies, not on foreign soil.

Against Americans, on domestic soil.

450 MILLION rounds. Half a BILLION rounds.

Compare this to, for example, the war in Iraq. Where 5.5 million rounds per month were fired at its height. That equates to 66 million rounds per year in wartime. This then, further, equates to roughly seven years of war against US citizens at an "Iraq-type" expenditure.

Obama's NDAA already exists. It is extant. And it doesn't stand for the North Delaware Apartment Association. It stands for a diminishment of your civil liberties. It provides Mr Obama the power to detain Americans at will.

What is the further "logical extension"?

That is this: your federal government seems to be anticipating a MASSIVE shooting war against its own citizens.

I can feature no other reason for such a staggering purchase of handgun rounds by the federal government.

If you have any other considered scenarios, then, please weigh in.

Elucidate me. Please tell me where I'm wrong.

BZ

P.S.

And finally, a brief summary of federal gun control:

1791
The Bill of Rights, including the Second Amendment -- "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." gains final ratification.

1837
Georgia passes a law banning handguns. The law is ruled unconstitutional and thrown out.

1865
In a reaction to emancipation, several southern states adopt "black codes" which, among other things, forbid black persons from possessing firearms.

1871
The National Rifle Association (NRA) is organized around its primary goal of improving American civilians' marksmanship in preparation for war.

1927
Congress passes a law banning the mailing of concealable weapons.

1934
The National Firearms Act of 1934 regulating only fully automatic firearms like sub-machine guns is approved by Congress.

1938
The Federal Firearms Act of 1938 places the first limitations on selling ordinary firearms. Persons selling guns are required to obtain a Federal Firearms License, at an annual cost of $1, and to maintain records of the name and address of persons to whom firearms are sold. Gun sales to persons convicted of violent felonies were prohibited.

1968
The Gun Control Act of 1968 - "...was enacted for the purpose of keeping firearms out of the hands of those not legally entitled to possess them because of age, criminal background, or incompetence." -- Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms The Act regulates imported guns, expands the gun-dealer licensing and record keeping requirements, and places specific limitations on the sale of handguns. The list of persons banned from buying guns is expanded to include persons convicted of any non-business related felony, persons found to be mentally incompetent, and users of illegal drugs.

1972
The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms is created listing as part of its mission the control of illegal use and sale of firearms and the enforcement of Federal firearms laws. ATF issues firearms licenses and conducts firearms licensee qualification and compliance inspections.

1977
The District of Columbia enacts an anti-handgun law which also requires registration of all rifles and shotguns within the District of Columbia.

1986
The Armed Career Criminal Act (Public Law 99-570) increases penalties for possession of firearms by persons not qualified to own them under the Gun Control Act of 1986.

The Firearms Owners Protection Act (Public Law 99-308) relaxes some restrictions on gun and ammunition sales and establishes mandatory penalties for use of firearms during the commission of a crime.

The Law Enforcement Officers Protection Act (Public Law 99-408) bans possession of "cop killer" bullets capable of penetrating bulletproof clothing.

1989
California bans the possession of semiautomatic assault weapons following the massacre of five children on a Stockton, CA school playground.

1990
The Crime Control Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-647) bans manufacturing and importing semiautomatic assault weapons in the U.S. "Gun-free school zones" are established carrying specific penalties for violations.

1994
The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (Public Law 103-159) imposes a five-day waiting period on the purchase of a handgun and requires that local law enforcement agencies conduct background checks on purchasers of handguns. (ATF's Brady Law web site.)

The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-322) bans all sale, manufacture, importation, or possession of a number of specific types of assault weapons.

1997
The Supreme Court, in the case of Printz v. United States, declares the background check requirement of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act unconstitutional.

The Florida Supreme Court upholds a jury's $11.5 million verdict against Kmart for selling a gun to and intoxicated man who used the gun to shoot his estranged girlfriend.

Major American gun manufacturers voluntarily agree to include child safety trigger devices on all new handguns.

1998 - June
A Justice Department report indicates the blocking of some 69,000 handgun sales during 1977 while Brady Bill pre-sale background checks were required.

1998 - July
An amendment requiring a trigger lock mechanism to be included with every handgun sold in the U.S. is defeated in the Senate.

But, the Senate approves an amendment requiring gun dealers to have trigger locks available for sale and creating federal grants for gun safety and education programs.

1998 - October
New Orleans, LA becomes the first US city to file suit against gun makers, firearms trade associations, and gun dealers. The city's suit seeks recovery of costs attributed to gun-related violence.

1998 - November 12
Chicago, IL files a $433 million suit against local gun dealers and makers alleging that oversupplying local markets provided guns to criminals.

1998 - November 17
A negligence suite against gun maker Beretta brought by the family of a 14-year old boy killed by an other boy with a Beretta handgun is dismissed by a California jury.

1998 - November 30
Permanent provisions of the Brady Act go into effect. Gun dealers are now required to initiate a pre-sale criminal background check of all gun buyers through the newly created National Instant Criminal Background Check (NICS) computer system.

1998 - December 1
The NRA files suit in federal court attempting to block the FBI's collection of information on firearm buyers.

1998 - December 5
President Clinton announces that the instant background check system had prevented 400 illegal gun purchases. The claim is called "misleading" by the NRA.

1999 - January
Civil suits against gun makers seeking to recover costs of gun-related violence are filed in Bridgeport, Connecticut and Miami-Dade County, Florida.

1999 - May 20
By a 51-50 vote, with the tie-breaker vote cast by Vice President Gore, the Senate passes a bill requiring trigger locks on all newly manufactured handguns and extending waiting period and background check requirements to sales of firearms at gun shows.

1999 - August 24
The Los Angeles County, CA Board of Supervisors votes 3 - 2 to ban the the Great Western Gun Show, billed as the "world's largest gun show" from the Pomona, CA fairgrounds where the show had been held for the last 30 years. (Typical Gun Show Rules & Regulations here.)