Rep.-elect Lauren Boebert, a Republican pro-Second Amendment proponent, said she will fight efforts from House Democrats to ban lawmakers from carrying guns at the Capitol in Washington.
About 20 Democrats wrote a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to ask that lawmakers be prevented from carrying firearms at the Capitol.
Lawmakers are allowed to carry guns at the Capitol due to a 1967 exemption. Members of the public are banned from carrying guns there.
Democrats wrote that because of Boebert’s statements that she wants to carry a gun, “members may unwillingly be putting themselves and others in danger.”
“Ultimately, the current regulations create needless risk for Members of Congress, their staff, members of the Capitol Police, and visitors to the Capitol grounds,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter.
Boebert said she wants to carry a gun because she is concerned about the times she will be walking alone in Washington.
She said that Democrats are trying to “bar young women from protecting themselves in one of the most dangerous cities in our country,” Boebert said.
Last month, Boebert told Fox that “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.”
