Screenshot via House Committee on Natural Resources
- GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert opposed a House committee rule that bans carrying firearms in its hearing room.
- The lawmaker appeared at a virtual meeting in front of multiple guns stacked on a bookshelf.
- The House Natural Resources Committee ultimately upheld the rule on Thursday.
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At a virtual meeting on Thursday against a backdrop of multiple guns, Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado blasted a House committee’s proposed rule to ban carrying firearms in its hearing room at the Capitol.
“This rule is absurd and discriminative,” Boebert said in front of bookshelf stacked with firearms during a conference call with the House Natural Resources Committee.”This is a blatant violation of our Constitutional rights.”
The freshman Republican called on the committee’s chair, Democratic Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, to issue her a “personal security detail” if the committee went ahead with the measure.
“I would like to request at this time personal security detail that the chairman pays for himself, for everytime I’m stepping into the committee room,” Boebert said. “If this is passed, the chairman is trying to take responsibility for my personal safety while stripping away my Second Amendment rights.”
Per a 1967 regulation, Congress members are allowed to keep guns in their offices and transport them around the Capitol complex. However, there are some exceptions, including on the House and Senate floors. In recent weeks, Republican lawmakers, including Boebert, have touted the regulation and opposed what they perceive as restrictions to it.
The House Natural Resources Committee's members met on Thursday to organize its panel for the 117th Congress, which included a debate on a rule that prohibits carrying firearms inside its hearing room. The rule was ultimately approved by a voice vote.
"As far as we're concerned, we're not doing anything new here," a Democratic committee spokesperson told Insider. "We're restating existing policy."
Democratic Rep. Jared Huffman of California defended the rule on Thursday and took aim at Boebert's perspective.
"Here's the reality, if somebody wants to have a shrine to their gun fetish as a Zoom backdrop in their private life, they can do that," he said during the meeting. "But this is our hearing room. And at some point, we will get past the COVID epidemic and we'll all start showing up in person. And our safety and our ability to conduct business civilly without feeling threatened is a relevant consideration, unfortunately."
Boebert later brushed off criticism of the guns in her video background after screenshots of it were posted online.
"Who says this is storage? These are ready for use," Boebert said in response to a tweet that mocked the firearm placement as "unsafe gun storage."
—Rep. Katie Porter (@RepKatiePorter) February 18, 2021
Fellow Colorado Rep. Jason Crow, an army veteran, slammed Boebert's display as a "political stunt."
"I never stacked guns on a bookshelf when at war, let alone on a zoom in my living room," Crow said.
Boebert, a gun-rights advocate, gained national attention last month when she suggested that she'd carry a Glock with her around Washington, DC, and to Congress. Open carry is illegal in the nation's capital, and gun owners must register their firearms with the DC police and obtain a permit should they choose to carry them concealed. The Metropolitan Police Department at the time said it would reach out to Boebert.
Earlier this month, acting Police Chief Robert Contee said Boebert was issued a concealed carry permit.
During Thursday's meeting, Boebert also raised concerns with the new metal detectors installed outside the House chamber in light of the Capitol siege on January 6. She previously reportedly refused to abide by the safety protocol.
Boebert represents Colorado's 3rd Congressional District and ran her 2020 campaign on a pro-gun platform. She owns a restaurant in the state called "Shooters Grille" where waitstaff are encouraged to openly carry firearms.