Alphabet agencies in the federal government--most armed

 ATF Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives

 BIA Bureau of Indian Affairs 

BOP Federal Bureau of Prisons 

CBP U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

DEA Drug Enforcement Administration 

DHS Department of Homeland Security 

DOD Department of Defense 

DOJ Department of Justice 

EPA Environmental Protection Agency 

FAR Federal Acquisition Regulation 

FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation 

FDA Food and Drug Administration 

FLEO Federal law enforcement officer 

FPDS-NG Federal Procurement Data System-Next Generation 

FPS Federal Protective Service 

FWS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

 GSA General Services Administration 

HHS U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 

ICE U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 

IRS Internal Revenue Service

ESO Law Enforcement Support Office 

NIH National Institutes of Health 

NPPD National Protection and Programs Directorate 

OECA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance 

OIG Office of Inspector General 

PSC product or service code 

SSA Social Security Administration 

TIGTA Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration 

TSA Transportation Security Administration 

USMS U.S. Marshals Service 

USSS U.S. Secret Service 

VA U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

 VHA Veterans Health Administration

GAO-19-175, FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT: Purchases and Inventory Controls of Firearms, Ammunition, and Tactical Equipment

No, we don't have the most frequent mass shootings

It turns out that not only did the U.S. not have the most frequent mass shootings, it was No. 62 on the list, lower than places like Norway, Finland, and Switzerland. There was also no relationship between the rate of gun ownership in different countries and the rate of mass shootings." 

 https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/02/20/the-us-has-the-most-mass-shootings-and-other-bogus-gun-research/?

What the U.S. does have are journalists who don't do research or ask questions. They have agendas and biases.

More safety for the schools to repel intruders

I got a driver's license in 1956 and didn't have an accident, not even a fender bender, until 2021. That same accident which left me bruised and frightened, probably would have killed me in 1956. In fact, auto fatalities are half what they were in 1956--23.7 per 100,000 to 11.67 in 2019 (2020 and 2021 were bumped up due to Covid and are outliers). Cars are half as dangerous, despite the millions of more vehicles on the road and silly teen-agers behind the wheel. Cars, roads and bridges are much, much safer--I was driving a 22 year old SUV that had airbags (my only injuries), seat belts and padded dash; the bridge had concrete barriers which kept me from drowning in the river and the woman who stopped to help had a cell phone to call for immediate help (the black ice was still as dangerous as 1956 because some things don't change). The salt truck was behind me, instead of in front, but at least others were safe.

School safety is the same way. Although the President wants to make this a political issue to satisfy his base, it should be a safety issue. The President should be comforting and consoling not ramping up hatred. He continues to belittle the police even after we've seen such bravery yesterday. Even as all the data show minorities are more likely to be the aggressor in racial crimes. Children are much safer at school than anywhere else--we learned that during Covid when hunger, mental health issues, and on-line frustration and bullying increased because of school closings. However, young men like Salvador Ramos who are mentally ill are still dangerous, just as black ice on bridges is as dangerous as 55 years ago.

Arm the teachers. Train the staff. The Robb school had a lot of safety protections, but the fence was extremely weak. I really have no idea about schools in my own community, but I intend to ask. I hope all schools and churches and other soft targets continue to recognize that they are targets for hate and evil. It's not the 1950s or 1960s.

Although social media can shut down a president, it also allows dangerous and out of control people to post their intentions. At least they should be allowed to alert authorities in the community.  And have you noticed the media is not focuses on Ramos' ethnicity?

Another perspective on guns, guest blogger from Arizona

I live in Arizona halfway between Phoenix and Tucson at the intersection of I8 coming from San Diego and I10 connecting Phoenix and Tucson. I am about 2 hours north of the Mexican border. An Indian reservation stretches from the border all the way to Interstate 8. It is a major drug and human trafficking corridor with about 60% of the drugs coming into the U.S. coming across the Arizona border. I am surrounded by desert and small mountain ranges similar to what you see around Phoenix with Camelback and South Mountain if you’ve ever been there. The population in our area is around 60% Hispanic from many Central American countries with very low income levels, poor English skills and a high number of illegals. We have gangs in the area including MS-13. We have 5 prisons in the area mostly private serving the states of California and Hawaii and an ICE prison. We have an active Border Patrol station here part of the Tucson Sector. People that live here do so because they like the outdoors, nature, climate and of course the scenery including beautiful sunsets and night skies. People love to hike in the desert and mountain climb. Rattlesnakes, wildcats, mountain lions and the cartel members can be encountered on those hikes. It may be hard to believe but most rural roads are still dirt roads.

Having said all that, it is a good place to live. The cost of living is relatively low and access to the cities of Phoenix and Tucson is less than an hour away as is Phoenix Airport. Crime is actually quite low, less than in the larger cities. The biggest issues are robbery and drug related. But, most of the people I know have guns. They carry them while hiking or when traveling in less secure places. They are business owners who are small mom and pop operations. They are ex-military and now gun collectors. They are retired police. They are sheriff auxiliary on patrol with deputies. They are game hunters. They are farm operators with hundreds of acres of open land. They are ordinary people who feel more secure with a gun in the house. There are shooting ranges in the area that are heavily used. People think twice about breaking into a home or starting a confrontation with someone because you never know who has a gun. So in that case it is a deterrent. Most shootings here involve domestic disputes usually around drugs, mental illness or estranged spouses.

Everyone always looks at the mass shooting or violence in the bigger cities but what do you say to my neighbors who have and use guns correctly, for protection or for hunting. How do you structure laws to allow my neighbors to have guns but control mass shootings or inner city killings. I’ve always been taught to look at root causes. In this case is the gun the root cause or is it the laws on the books that are not being enforced or followed? Is it training on the proper use?  Just look at TV and movies and how guns are promoted. Should we start with outlawing video games, or limiting TV violence? It seems to have worked for drinking and smoking on TV shows and commercials.
Truthfully, I’m more frightened about being hit by a drunk driver or impaired driver than by being shot. We have laws against driving impaired, but yet it still happens and people die. What do we do, have laws outlawing cars to prevent drunk people driving them? We seem to be dancing around what to do with driving under drug influences. It’s an emotional issue for those who have been around and used guns all their lives. It reminds me of how traumatic is for someone to have to give up a driver’s license because of age after driving all their lives. A part of your life is being taken away. I also think the discussion is driven by the large number of deaths in any one instance. It’s like one large plane crash where hundreds die being heavily investigated trying to establish fault yet many more smaller plane crashes where one or two people are killed go unnoticed even though the total deaths is more in the single plane crashes.

Duplicity in the highest office

Even the gun shop owner reported Omar Mateen's odd behavior and questions, but because Muslims are a protected group in the "rules of engagement" issued by the WH, the FBI did nothing. Disney also reported him to the FBI in April. (Fox News, various interviews with store owner, and former FBI staffer, but it's also been on ABC and CBS in case you don't trust Fox). Then the president goes to the memorial service and comforts the families and uses their tragedy for his political gain. Sickening. The President confesses the Christian faith (member of UCC) with his mouth, but his heart is with Islam.

We are not Mateen; don't tell that lie again

The more we learn about Mateen the more disturbed we learn he was--cultural Muslim radicalized on the internet, abusive to 2 wives, gay and/or bi-sexual, nasty personality, and the people he killed were in a club he often attended, so he may have known some of his victims, most of whom were probably Puerto Rican heritage.

The gun was not the problem, and it wasn't an assault weapon, it was a rifle, but that's immaterial. He could have done just as much damage with a handgun, or a fire bomb, or blowing himself up inside the building. People who knew him in high school 15 years ago say he was hateful then. He was a hater. He violated all laws about guns, yet he had been cleared by a security company with a Homeland Security contract and the FBI. To say more laws would have stopped him is just a fantasy. His co-workers had also tried to warn their employer, but due to protections accorded certain groups and fear of being called a bigot, they were ignored. "If you see something, say something," apparently only applies to abandoned luggage in airports.

Do not include yourself or me in your comment "USA society is just as mentally warped as the warped individual."  And I say that to conservatives also who cry that we're going to Hell in a hand basket because of Hillary and Obama. That's just a lie people tell themselves that is based on political hysteria. None of Mateen's qualities are mine, and not yours. Straighten your spine and do something nice today in memory of those who have died. And by the way, gun violence is half of what it was in 1994, and gun ownership is double.