House Democrats are pushing for legislation this week to ban lawmakers from carrying firearms anywhere on Capitol Hill – an old idea that is getting new attention in the tough days since the deadly attack on the Capitol earlier this month.
Sponsored by representatives. Jared Huffman
Jared William Huffman House Democrats want to block the West Coast, Northern suburbs. Tensions run high after gun incident near home floor Scars from Capitol attack penetrate more security inauguration MORE and Jackie Speier
Karen (Jackie) Lorraine Jacqueline Speier Overnight Defense: Biden lifts Trump’s transgender military ban | Democrats, lawyers celebrate end of ban | 5,000 custodians living in DC until mid-March. Calls grow for a 9/11-style panel to investigate Capitol attack Global Gag Rule is just the tip of the iceberg: Why repealing the Helmets amendment MORE matters, both California Democrats, would repeal the proposal a decade-old rule that exempts lawmakers from an otherwise total ban on guns throughout the Capitol complex.
The effects of legislation have been in place since 1967, and members of both parties have been using it quietly for decades, virtually without incident.
But the issue has been raised to new heights this year after a handful of House Republics, most of whom are new to Congress, expressed a desire to bring hidden firearms to the chamber floor, where current guidelines prohibit it.
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 HarrisRep. Bush says moving his office away from Greene’s for security Maryland lawmakers ask Biden to honor Capital Gazette victims with presidential medal of freedom Rachel Maddow: GOP has become part of a ‘fringe, violent, extremist criminal movement’ MORE (R-Md.) To bring a gun into the room – increased the urgency among Democratic gun reformers to extend the firearms ban to not only staff members and the public, but also lawmakers.
“What I think we have learned does not work is the system of honor,” Huffman said in a telephone interview on Thursday, the day he introduced the bill. ‘This is how we apply the current ban on guns in the living room. And we know that a growing number of Republicans are just disputing that. ‘
One newcomer to Capitol Hill, Representative Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Snapped a video on her second day in Washington with the promise that she would ‘carry my firearm in DC and in Congress’. She has since refused to allow police in Capitol to search her handbag as she walked to the floor of the house.
Another first-term lawmaker, Representative Madison Cawthorn (RN.C.), told local press that he was carrying a gun during the siege of the Capitol, although it is unclear if he was on the floor at the time.
A third Republican, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), Is facing charges this week following revelations that she endorsed the assassination of prominent Democrats before coming to Congress.
These and similar episodes have heightened mistrust to such an extent that some Democrats say they are literally afraid that some of their GOP colleagues are threatening their physical safety.
In response to this concern, the speaker Nancy Pelosi
Nancy PelosiFBI: A woman arrested in Capitol riots allegedly said she wanted to shoot Pelosi ‘in the ice’ brain ‘. Did Trump know what would happen on January 6? Marjorie Taylor Greene calls Trump call amid growing setback MORE (D-Calif.) A few days after the Capitol attack, he placed three magnetometers around the floor of the house – an extraordinary step that reflects how far party relations have deteriorated in the burning months since the election last year. If there were questions about her goal, it was put to rest by one of her Housemates, who said that “the jackets can not carry guns in the room.”
Pelosi is now campaigning for more money to protect lawmakers – at home, in Washington and while traveling in between. But she made it clear that she saw some of the Republicans as part of the threat.
“We will probably need a supplement for more security for members if the enemy is inside the House of Representatives – a threat that members are worried about – in addition to what is happening outside,” Pelosi told reporters in the Capitol on Thursday. .
Asked to lay out, Pelosi was soft. “This means we have members of Congress who want to bring guns to the floor and have threatened violence against other members of Congress,” she said.
Some Republican lawmakers have already looked at the idea of walking through the magnetometers during the vote and preferring to slide around them. Pelosi responded quickly, threatening thousands of dollars in fines for each offense – a policy the House is expected to adopt next week.
The application of the legislative ban to armed legislators is less certain. Huffman said the decision was left to the US Capitol Police Board, although he suggested the simplest strategy was to get legislators to vote, just like everyone else every time they enter the Capitol complex.
“I think we arrived at a time when members of Congress have to play by the same rules,” he said.
The 1967 guidelines that allow lawmakers to carry guns are also a draft of the Capitol Police Board, which consists of the sergeants in both chambers, the Capitol architect and the head of the Capitol Police. And even Huffman says the preferred strategy is to repeal the rule, rather than legislatively adopting the change.
However, after the January 6 attack, the Council is in disarray as three of the four members have been replaced, and it is unclear whether they are investigating the issue.
“The problem is that the council is not really functioning right now,” Huffman said. “It is important for this bill to continue, if nothing else, to keep this issue at the forefront and serve as a backstop if they do not want to act.”
A U.S. Capitol Police spokesman did not respond to a request for comment this week.
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Chairman of the rules committee, has come under some pressure from Democrats to attach the gun ban to the rules package for the new Congress, which was approved in the first week of January. McGovern spoke to The Hill earlier this month, saying Democratic leaders had voted against it, mainly for two reasons. First, he said the Police Board is reviewing its guidelines on firearms, including the release of legislators. And second, house rules cover only half of the Capitol complex, making maintenance logistically impossible without the Senate purchasing it.
“The regulation is two-pronged,” he said, emphasizing that he supports Huffman’s goals.
While Democrats now control the Senate, Huffman said he hopes to find support for his proposal in the upper house, although it is unclear whether the Senate is the majority leader. Charles Schumer
Chuck Schumer Proposal for Permanent Capitol Fencing Sparks Dual Backlash Immigration Reform Can’t Wait Psaki Expects DHS-Named Mayorkas to Lead Task Force to Reunite Divorced Families (DN.Y.) has the problem on its radar.
Schumer’s office did not respond to several requests for comment.
However, as the debate unfolds, proponents of the ceasefire say their cause has been bolstered by an unlikely group: the same tumultuous Republicans – including Boebert, Cawthorn and Greene – whose high-profile controversies have quickly become a headache for GOP leaders.
“These people, through their bad behavior, make a much better case than anything I could say,” Huffman said.