Incoming Rep. Lauren Boebert, an anti-big government Republican from Colorado who was just elected to Congress, has found a way to get around the state’s Thanksgiving gathering restrictions over COVID-19.
Instead of a “dinner,” she’s having a “funeral” for a dead turkey.
“In Colorado, Thanksgiving is limited to 10 people, but funerals are limited to 30,” Boebert told Fox News in a recent interview in Washington, D.C. “So I’m going to have a peaceful funeral for a turkey and have about 30 people at my house.”
The congresswoman lives in Garfield County, which is currently under “Level Orange – High Risk” COVID-19 restrictions. The restrictions say no more than 10 people can hold public – or even private – gatherings, and no more than two household members can gather, either. But houses of worship and events like weddings, funerals and baptisms can have up to 50 people, even higher than what Boebert said.
Boebert later told Fox that she should be allowed to invite more people because she’s added two more dead animals to the menu – a pig and a duck.
A Second Amendment enthusiast and vocal backer of President Trump, Boebert says the government shouldn’t be allowed to restrict people from gathering. “A government that is big enough to shut down your Thanksgiving dinner is a government that’s too big,” Boebert said.
She’s been personally affected by the state’s limits as the owner of a gun-themed restaurant in Rifle, Colo., called Shooters Grill. “During the early days of shutdown, Boebert, a 33-year-old wife and mother of four sons, said she tapped the family’s savings to make payroll and avoid layoffs at her restaurant, which has gained fame for the waitstaff openly carrying their firearms,” Fox reported.
Boebert also recently made headlines last year after then-Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke said he wanted to confiscate guns like AR-15s. “I am here to say: Hell, no, you’re not,” Boebert said in a viral video.
An open-carry advocate, Boebert often wears a Glock pistol on her hip. When she takes office and moves to Washington, she plans to apply for a permit in Washington to carry a concealed handgun. She told Fox she wants to meet with the Capitol Police chief to talk about carrying her gun in Capitol complex because she’s concerned for her safety.
“I’m not walking around with security. I am the security,” Boebert said. “So I’ll carry in my office. I know that it’s OK for members to carry there and I am going to set up a meeting with the Capitol [Police] chief and talk to him about further options to carry. … If there aren’t enough provisions there to make sure that I feel like I’m safe and not disarmed, then I may try to make some amendments to the rules in Congress.”
Boebert is worried that she may be a “target” in Washington, D.C.
“D.C. is increasingly dangerous, right now – especially [with] the politics surrounding D.C.,” Boebert said. “People are going to know who I am, and I think that just kind of makes for a larger target. And so I want to make sure that I’m able to defend myself.”