An interesting report - The Militarization of America

From Open the Books:

We quantified $1.4 billion in non-military federal agencies purchase of guns, ammunition and military-style equipment during the last nine years.

We estimate that federal non-military agencies now employ more officers with arrest and firearm authorization than there are U.S. Marines. There are 182,000 U.S. Marines and over 200,000 plus officers employed within the rank-and-file federal agencies.

Some highlights:

KEY FINDINGS (FY2006-FY2014) – THE MILITARIZATION OF AMERICA

1. Sixty-seven non-military federal agencies spent $1.48 billion on guns, ammunition, and military-style equipment.
2. Of that total amount, ‘Traditional Law Enforcement’ Agencies spent 77 percent ($1.14 billion) while ‘Administrative’ or ‘General’ Agencies spent 23 percent ($335.1 million).
3. Non-military federal spending on guns and ammunition jumped 104 percent from $55 million (FY2006) to $112 million (FY2011).

A bunch more at the site including this entry from bizzaro-land:

12. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service spent $4.77 million purchasing shotguns, .308 caliber rifles, night vision goggles, propane cannons, liquid explosives, pyro supplies, buckshot, LP gas cannons, drones, remote controlled helicopters, thermal cameras, military waterproof thermal infrared scopes, and more.

I mean seriously WTF?¿?¿?

Full 55-page report (PDF) can be found here: OpenTheBooks Oversight Report – The Militarization of America and of course, they have lots of links to the corroborating data. These are the government's own numbers.

And, do not forget that this is happening all the while the government is trying to take away our guns.