This week, House Democrats are pushing for legislation so lawmakers can carry firearms anywhere on Capitol Hill, an old idea that draws attention in the full days since the deadly attack on the Capitol in early month.
Sponsored by representatives. Jared Huffman
Jared William HuffmanHouse Democrats try to block West Coast and Arctic drilling Tensions rise after gun incident near house floor Attack on Capitol scars permeates inauguration HIGH SECURITY MORE i Jackie Speier
Karen (Jackie) Lorraine Jacqueline Speier Night Defense: Biden lifts Trump’s transgender military ban | Democrats and advocates celebrate end to ban | 5,000 guards remain in DC until mid-March Calls for a 9/11-style panel to investigate the Capitol attack grow Global gag rule is just the tip of the iceberg: Why it matters the repeal of the Helms MORE amendment, both California Democrats, the proposal would repeal an old rule that exempted lawmakers from the widespread gun ban throughout the Capitol complex.
The size of the legislature has been in place since 1967 and members of both sides have quietly taken advantage of it in the decades since then, with virtually no incidents.
But the issue has risen to new heights this year after a handful of House Republicans, mostly new to Congress, have expressed a desire to bring hidden firearms to the House floor, where current guidelines they forbid.
These rhetorical threats to defy the rules, combined with an episode last week, when Capitol police officers intervened to prevent Rep. Andy Harris
Andrew (Andy) Peter Harris Rep. Bush says he moves away from Greene’s for safety Maryland lawmakers are asking Biden to honor the Capital Gazette by shooting victims with Presidential Medal of Freedom Rachel Maddow: The Republican Party has become the party of ‘an “extremist, violent, extremist criminal movement” MORE (R-Md.) To bring a gun to the House – has increased the urgency among Democratic gun reformers to extend the firearms ban to include not only staff and the public, but lawmakers as well.
“What I think we’ve learned doesn’t work is the honor system,” Huffman said in a phone interview Thursday, the day he introduced the bill. “That’s how we apply the current arms ban to the House of Representatives. And we know a growing number of Republicans are just doing it.”
One of the newcomers to Capitol Hill, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Cut a video of her second day in Washington promising to “bring my gun to DC and Congress.” He has since refused to allow Capitol police to search his handbag as he entered the floor of the house.
Another first-term lawmaker, Rep. Madison Cawthorn (RN.C.), told local media she was carrying a gun during the siege of the Capitol, although it is unclear if she was on the floor at the time.
A third Republican, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), Is facing intense scrutiny this week following revelations she had approved of the assassination of prominent Democrats before coming to Congress.
These episodes and the like have intensified mistrust to the extent that some Democrats say they literally fear that some of their GOP colleagues pose a threat to their physical security.
In response to these concerns, Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi: FBI: A woman arrested for a riot at the Capitol allegedly said she wanted to shoot Pelosi in the friggin ‘brain. Did Trump know what was about to happen on January 6th? Marjorie Taylor Greene announces Trump’s call amid growing MORE reaction (D-California) placed three magnetometers around the House floor a few days after the Capitol attack, an extraordinary step that reflects the extent to which party relations have deteriorated in the fuel months since of last year’s election. If there were questions about their target, one of their allies in the house detained them, who said the goal is to “prevent jackasses from carrying weapons in the chamber.”
Pelosi is pushing for more funding to protect lawmakers, at home, in Washington and while traveling through the middle. But he has made it clear that he believes some Republicans are part of the threat.
“We will probably need a supplement for more security for members when the enemy is in the House of Representatives (a threat that worries members), in addition to what is happening outside,” Pelosi told reporters Thursday at the Capitol .
When asked to explain, Pelosi was concise. “It means we have members of Congress who want to carry guns on the ground and who have threatened the violence of other members of Congress,” he said.
Some Republican lawmakers have already rejected the idea of walking around the magnetometers during the polls, opting to plan around them. Pelosi responded quickly and threatened fines of thousands of dollars for each offense, a policy he is expected to adopt next week.
Applying the legislative ban to armed lawmakers is less secure. Huffman said the decision would be in the hands of the U.S. Capitol Police Board, though he suggested the simplest strategy would be to get lawmakers selected like everyone else every time they enter the Capitol complex. .
“I think we’ve come to a point where members of Congress have to follow those same rules,” he said.
The 1967 guidelines that allow lawmakers to carry weapons are also a design of the Capitol Police Board, which consists of the arms sergeants of both chambers, the Capitol Architect and the Capitol Police Chief. And even Huffman says the preferred strategy is for the Board to repeal that rule instead of adopting the change legislatively.
Following the January 6 attack, however, the Board is in a state of disarray as three of the four members have been replaced and it is unclear whether they are examining the matter.
“The problem is that this advice isn’t really working right now,” Huffman said. “It’s important that this bill move forward, to say the least, that it keeps this issue at the forefront and that it serves as a counterweight in case it refuses to take action.”
This week, a U.S. Capitol police spokeswoman did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Chairman of the Rules Committee, had faced some pressure from Democrats to add the arms ban to the rules package for the new Congress, which was passed the first week of gener. Speaking to The Hill earlier this month, McGovern said Democratic leaders opted for it, mainly for two reasons. First, he said the Police Board is reviewing its firearms guidelines, including the legislature’s exemption. And, secondly, the rules of the House cover only half of the Capitol complex, which logistically makes implementation impossible without the incorporation of the Senate.
“Regulation is bicameral,” he said, stressing that he supports Huffman’s goals.
With Democrats now in control of the Senate, Huffman said he hopes to find support for his proposal in the upper house, though it is unclear whether the leader of the Senate majority Charles Schumer
Chuck Schumer: Proposed Permanent Fencing at the Capitol Causes Bipartisan Retreat Immigration Reform Can’t Wait Psaki hopes DHS Mayorkas candidate to lead task force to reunite separated families MORE (DN.Y.) has the problem on the radar.
Schumer’s office did not respond to several requests for comment.
As the debate unfolds, supporters of the arms ban say their case has been bolstered by an unlikely group: the same Republicans who wake the scoundrel (including Boebert, Cawthorn and Greene), the controversies that the grab the headlines have quickly become a headache for Republican Party leaders.
“These people, because of their bad behavior, make a much better case than anything I could say,” Huffman said.