Congresswoman-elect Lauren Boebert has already triggered members of the House Democrat Caucus, and she hasn’t even been sworn in yet.
The Colorado entrepreneur and gun-rights enthusiast recently asked Capitol Police about carrying firearms in the Capitol Building. While the law prohibits the public from doing so, the Capitol Police Board has begun reviewing Boeboert’s request.
The review prompted criticism from some Democrats who argue that Boeboert’s determination to bring her signature Glock to work is needlessly provocative. Republicans contend that Boebert is within her rights. While the District of Columbia has among the strictest gun laws in the nation, the Capitol complex allows lawmakers to make their own rules since the building resides on federal land. Members of Congress are already allowed to bring registered firearms into the House and Senate office buildings adjacent to the Capitol.
Fox News reports:
“The Democrats are always up for stripping away our Constitutional rights and feel threatened when we simply want to exercise those rights,” Boebert told Fox News Wednesday. “I carry a firearm to protect myself and want to exercise my right to do so in one of the most dangerous cities in America. They want to take that right away from me. I look forward to helping make sure they can’t.”
At least 21 Democrats sent a letter Tuesday to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., asking that lawmakers be banned from carrying guns on all Capitol grounds.
California Rep. Jackie Speier, who survived multiple gunshot wounds during the Jonestown massacre, Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., and Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., led the effort. They want the firearms ban included in the House rules package that lawmakers will have to vote on when the new Congress is sworn in on Jan. 3.
Currently, members of the public are prohibited from carrying guns at the Capitol, but lawmakers are exempt from the firearms ban because of a 1967 regulation. The Democrats say it’s time for lawmakers to be held to the same firearm rules as everyone else.
