Representative Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), a newly seated member of the 117th Congress, said in an ad that she intends to carry her Glock handgun in Washington, D.C., and in Congress.
“Even though I now work in one of the most liberal cities in America, I refused to give up my rights, especially my second amendment rights,” Boebert says in the ad. “I will carry my firearm in DC and in Congress.”
“Being a member of Congress is pretty basic,” Boebert added. “I don’t go to work in a motorcade or armored car. I don’t get police escorts everywhere I go. I walk to my office every morning by myself. So as a 5 foot tall, one hundred pound woman, I choose to protect myself legally because I am my best security.”
A 1967 regulation exempts members of Congress from a federal law banning firearms on the Capitol grounds. Back on December 15, Representative Jared Huffman and 20 Democratic colleagues sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy asking them to eliminate that exemption. It is quite possible that this action was taken in anticipation of Boebert’s arrival in Congress, since her views on the right to keep and bear arms were well known.
On January 1, two days before the new Congress was sworn in, Boebert wrote a letter, which was signed by other members and members-elect of Congress, to Pelosi and McCarthy, asking that the 1967 rule allowing House members to continue to carry guns in the Capitol remain in place.
The position requested by Boebert and her Republican colleagues prevailed when the new set of rules contained in H. Res. 8 — passed by the House on January 4 — preserved the 1967 exemption.
Soon after being sworn into Congress on January 3, Boebert issued a news release through her office, stating,
I am proud to take the oath of office to represent and serve the great people of Colorado’s Third Congressional District. Since the election, my team and I have assembled a powerhouse staff, established offices throughout the District, and positioned my office to hit the ground running on day one. I am going to work extremely hard to get the job done in a way that makes everyone proud in rural Colorado of their new Representative and more importantly, delivers results. Let’s get to work.
Boebert will co-chair the Congressional Second Amendment Caucus with Representative Thomas Massie (R-Ky.).
In addition to carrying her firearm in the halls of Congress, Boebert also made clear that in order to protect herself walking to and from the Capitol she intends to be armed — as is her right guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the Constitution. However, the District of Columbia’s history of sometimes restricting that right has apparently caused acting Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee III to issue certain admonitions to Boebert during a January 4 press conference. Contee said that he wants to ensure that “[Boebert] is aware of what the laws of the District of Columbia are.”
“That congresswoman will be subjected to the same penalties as anyone else that’s caught on the D.C. streets carrying a firearm,” Contee warned ominously.
In reponse, a spokesperson for Boebert told Fox News that the congresswoman is a “fierce advocate of the Second Amendment” and that she will “comply with all applicable firearm laws and regulations.”
Boebert was very quick to point out the overzealousness implicit in Contee’s statement, saying, “there’s no question” she will be able to carry in the Capitol, noting the newly sworn-in police chief’s “first order of business is to come after a 34-year-old woman who wants to protect herself in this dangerous city.”
“I have gone through the concealed carry courses that Washington, D.C., requires to obtain a concealed carry permit, and I think it’s very interesting that he wants to ensure that I understand Washington, D.C.’s, firearm laws,” Boebert added. “Maybe I should make a video announcing that I plan to drive a car in Washington, D.C., and then the chief of police will say that he’s going to inform me of Washington, D.C.’s, traffic laws. Is this what he does to everyone who comes into the District of Columbia? Inform each and every person of their laws? I don’t think so.”
Contee was appointed as acting chief by Mayor Muriel Bowser to replace outgoing chief Peter Newsham, effective January 2 — so he has been on the job just one day longer than Boebert!
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Why Do Democrats Want to Ban Members of Congress From Carrying Firearms in the Capitol?
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