Legislator: Toting gun in D.C.

Coloradan airs ad as others seek Capitol firearms ban

WASHINGTON — One of the newest members of Congress, Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., has kicked off the session with a viral digital ad proclaiming her right to carry a handgun on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol and in the streets of Washington.

Boebert, the owner of a gunthemed restaurant in Rifle, Colo., released the video Sunday amid efforts by some Democrats to ban members of Congress from carrying guns on the grounds of the Capitol. On Monday, those efforts appeared poised to fail.

“Even though I now work in one of the most liberal cities in America, I refused to give up my rights, especially my Second Amendment rights,” Boebert, who defeated Scott Tipton in the Republican primary, says in the ad.

The ad begins with Boebert strapping a handgun to her hip before appearing to embark on a walk through Capitol Hill, near federal buildings and through alleys. Although the neighborhood is one of the city’s safest, she cites rising violent crime among the reasons she wants to be armed.

“I walk to my office each morning by myself,” Boebert says. “So as a 5-foot-tall, 100-pound woman I choose to protect myself legally, because I am my best security.”

A spokesman for Boebert said she was not carrying the gun throughout the video shoot, despite the opening scene. District of Columbia gun laws do licenses from other states, and nonresidents are prohibited from carrying firearms unless they register them with the District’s police.

A 1967 regulation exempts members of Congress from a federal law banning firearms on the Capitol grounds.

“Congresswoman Boebert is a fierce advocate for the Second Amendment, as such will comply with all applicable firearm laws and regulations,” spokesman Ben Goldey said.

Asked about the ad Monday, acting District of Columbia Police Chief Robert Contee III said Boebert would have to follow applicable laws if she wanted to carry the weapon in city streets, and would be subject to the same penalties as anyone else if she does not.

Democrats supportive of the efforts to ban guns on the Capitol grounds slammed Boebert’s ad Monday. Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., said that “as a lifelong Washingtonian, I would object that this is somehow one of the most dangerous places in America.”

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton — the District’s nonvoting member of Congress — said Boebert’s comments suggesting D.C. was not “real America” were “an insult to the residents of the District of Columbia who were part of the United States before

Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Ca lif., who has led efforts among Democrats to ban guns on the grounds, called the ad “catnip to the gun-hugging donor class.”

“That kind of grandstanding is clearly what this is about,” Huff man said. “It’s not about safety.”

Boebert campaigned as an ardent gun-rights supporter and unfailing ally of Presiden Donald Trump. She has pledged to join in the Republican effor to object to presidential electors on Wednesday.

Shortly after the November election, she reportedly inquired with the U.S. Capitol Police about the rules for carrying guns on the grounds.

Weeks later, Democrats led by Huffman asked House Speak er Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to amend gun regulations in a House Rules package to prohibit members o Congress from carrying guns Huffman spearheaded a similar effort in 2018, without success.

Boebert, in turn, led more than 80 Republicans in asking Pelosi and McCarthy to leave the 1967 regulations in place While Democrats have said they don’t take issue with fellow lawmakers carrying guns else where in the District, Republi cans noted that banning guns on the grounds would make i difficult to carry a gun on their way to work.

“If Members can’t carry on Capitol grounds, they can’t pro tect themselves in D.C. while making their way to and from their offices to perform their offi