Incoming Rep. Lauren Boebert, an anti-big government Republican from Colorado who will take office in days, wants to carry a concealed weapon in the Capitol for her own protection.
On Friday, she wrote a letter to House leadership, urging them to keep intact a 1967 rule that exempts lawmakers from a ban on carrying firearms inside the Capitol building.
“I refuse to give up my Second Amendment rights,” Boebert said in a statement. “I’m a 5-foot tall, 100-pound mom with four children and will be walking to work and serving in one of the most dangerous cities in the U.S. I choose to defend my family and my life with all of the force the Constitution provides. I will not let a bunch of gun-grabbing House Democrats take away my Constitutional right to protect myself.”
Her letter, signed by 82 other current and incoming GOP Congress members — including Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), Mo Brooks (R-AK), Louie Gohmert (R-Tx), and Matt Gaetz (R-FL) — “came three days after 21 Democratic lawmakers asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (D-CA) to change the 53-year-old rule to keep Boebert from carrying her gun into work,” Fox News reported.
“On Saturday, it appeared Boebert scored a victory, as new rules unveiled by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not appear to include a Democrat-proposed ban on firearms in the Capitol,” Fox wrote.
In their letter, the 83 lawmakers and member-elects stated: “If Members can’t carry on Capitol grounds, they can’t protect themselves in D.C. while making their way to and from their offices to perform their official duties. The ‘last-mile’ transition of self-protection is critical. The current regulations provide transitional coverage once the Member is physically on campus. Changing the current regulations could create new problems and uncertainty for lawful carrying Members in terms of what to do with a firearm once the Member arrives at the Congressional Complex.”
“Moreover, and most importantly, Members need to be able to protect themselves once the Member is in the public space/street and out of the protective care of the Capitol Police. If the current regulations are changed, the Member will be at risk of physical assault and real danger, especially after voicing views of his or her constituents that may not be held by others physically present in Washington D.C.,” the statement said.
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 34-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.
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