And who owns the government? us.
Absolutely, per 2ndA citizens should be able to buy the same gear from any manufacture willing to, even surplus when the gov’t is done using it. “put into the contract a clause that says X can’t sell them to any other buyers without government permission” is anathema to our founding principles. (I MIGHT relent on things like NBC weapons, which we inherently can’t trust anyone with, and entrust to gov’t care only with great reluctance.)
Now, if Colt et al don’t want to sell to the general public, that’s their problem (missing out on an enormous market).
But as a taxpayer who is literally paying for that design & build of military grade weapons, I don’t want my representatives (or worse, nameless bureaucrats) saying the manufacturer can’t sell ‘em to me.
Then that would make you inconsistent.