A group of Liberal Democrats is pressuring House leaders from both parties to prevent lawmakers from carrying weapons on Capitol Hill.
Although members of the public are prohibited from carrying weapons of any kind on the Capitol grounds, an old regulation allows lawmakers to carry firearms in most areas of the Capitol complex.
At least twenty-one Democratic arms reformers hope to overturn this exemption.
In a letter sent to Speaker on Tuesday Nancy Pelosi
Nancy PelosiCongress closes COVID-19 relief deal, bipartisan senators urge to include surprise billing deal in year-end package Democratic leaders under pressure to agree on reduced COVID-19 relief deal (D-California) and house minority leader Kevin McCarthy
Kevin Owen McCarthyCongress closes COVID-19 relief and agrees funding Democratic leaders are under pressure to accept a COVID-19 relief agreement. (R-California), the Liberals argued that lawmakers who take up arms, instead of increasing security around Capitol Hill, compromise the safety of everyone there, especially because Capitol police are in the dark. about who is armed and who is not.
Behind the rep. Jared Huffman
Jared William Huffman: Bipartisan Senators Present Tree Conservation Bill as Climate Solution Biden chooses to leave Democrats with majority in House of Representatives in modern history air pollution Despite risks to polar bears, Trump moves ahead with Arctic oil exploration | Biden will defend climate action in 2021 MORE (D-California), Democrats are urging party leaders to pass a rule change in the next Congress that bans firearms to both lawmakers and the public.
“Ultimately, the current regulations create unnecessary risks for members of Congress, their staff, members of the Capitol police and visitors to the Capitol precinct,” lawmakers wrote to Pelosi and McCarthy.
The letter was supported by other major arms reformers in Congress, including representatives. Mike Quigley
Michael (Mike) Bruce QuigleyHouse Approves Bill Banning Owning Big Cats After Netflix’s “King of Tigers” This Week: Congress Races to Finish GSA’s Short Work of the Year coming on the presidential transition MORE (D-Ill.) I Robin Kelly
Robin Lynne KellyHouse Democrats elect Aguilar as No. 6 leader in next Congress Lawmakers push for improved diabetes care through technological advances Senate passes law to protect Internet-connected devices from cyber vulnerabilities MORE (D-Ill.), Representing Chicago, where gun violence has increased in recent years, and Rep. Jackie Speier
Karen (Jackie), Lorraine, Jacqueline Speier: The Hill’s Morning report, presented by Facebook, Congress intends to avoid closing while conversations about viruses stop again. (D-California), who was shot and wounded as a staff member during the 1978 Congress trip to the cult settlement of Jonestown, Guyana. Former Rep. Leo Ryan (D-California) and four others were killed in the shooting.
The idea has been well received by Pelosi, who has long pushed for stricter federal gun laws and promises to promote legislation by expanding the background as a top Democratic priority in the next Congress.
However, for McCarthy and other Republican opponents of gun reform, the change is unlikely to be initiatory, as it establishes a partisan confrontation over the Second Amendment even before the president-elect. Joe Biden
Joe BidenDeVos urges Department of Education staff to “resist” when Biden takes office LGBTQ groups celebrate Buttigieg’s selection for transportation secretary Biden administration needs bipartisan solutions for older Americans, according to say lawmakers. MONTH, another advocate for arms reform, will take office next month.
It is unclear how many lawmakers currently take advantage of their right to bear arms on Capitol Hill, an obscure statute passed in 1967 by the Capitol Police Board after Congress approved the Capitol’s ban on firearms for the public in general.
The issue received further attention last month when it was reported that Lauren Boebert, a 33-year-old Colorado Republican recently elected to the House, had addressed Capitol police during the orientation of new members to pick up Capitol Hill firearms policies.
Boebert, who often carries a gun to his hip, had made gun rights activism a central part of his successful campaign, in which he overthrew the ten-year-old Republican representative. Scott Tipton
Scott R. TiptonHouse Republicans Don’t Sign Texas Demand The newly elected Colorado Republican wants to take his gun to the Capitol: they denounce QAnon’s sponsor, Boebert, winning the Colorado House race. MONTH for nomination to the Republican Party.
Huffman and Democratic reformers raise several specific concerns related to gun permits at the Capitol. On the one hand, they write, there are no house guidelines designed to ensure safe storage of firearms, in members ’offices or anywhere else in the complex.
“[A]You know, member offices are open to staff, visitors, and the general public, and an uninsured firearm could easily end up in the wrong hands, ”the letter says.
Lawmakers also express concern that, although the House Sergeant-at-Arms was said to be informing newly elected members of the Capitol’s gun rules, more veteran members have never received the same instructions. .
“[M]Probably returning members probably don’t know any gun regulations on Capitol grounds, “the Democrats wrote.” As a result, there is a total lack of uniformity and procedure around members of Congress carrying firearms, which favors an environment where members may unwittingly endanger themselves and others. “
The House Rules Package for the 117th Congress is currently being drafted by members of the Rules Committee, headed by Representative Jim McGovern (D-Mass.). The adoption of the rules will be one of the first votes of the House when the House meets on January 3 to begin the next session.