Congressional staffers go through metal detectors and security checks as they enter the House chamber on Jan. 12
On Thursday, Jan. 28, U.S. Representatives Jared Huffman (R-CA) and Jackie Speier (D-CA) jointly introduced a bill. The bill would not allow members of the House and staff to carry firearms in the Capitol. This is the second Time the two lawmakers have introduced the bill. In a statement, Huffman said, “Allowing lawmakers to carry guns threatens the safety of other lawmakers on Capitol Hill.” In response, the Republican congressman protested and said that carrying guns is necessary to protect personal safety.
According to U.S. Capitol Police regulations and U.S. law 40 U.S.C. § 5104, members of Congress have been allowed to carry firearms in the Capitol since 1967 for their own protection and Second Amendment rights.
Members of Congress are allowed to carry firearms in Congress and the Capitol if they have a local carry permit and the bullets are stored separately. Other than that, lawmakers are strictly prohibited from bringing firearms into the halls of the House of Representatives. The bill is expected to spark debate among lawmakers, especially after the violent storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Recently, Rep. Andy Harris, a Republican from Maryland, carried a handgun that set off an alarm when he passed through the Capitol’s metal-detecting security gate, and Harris is now being investigated for it.
Newly elected Congresswoman Lauren Boebert recently sent a letter to the House of Representatives, hoping to allow members of Congress to carry guns into the Capitol.
In the letter, Boebert wrote, “I refuse to give up my Second Amendment rights,” and “I am a 5-foot-tall, 100-pound mother of four children who needs to walk to work and serve in one of the most dangerous cities in America, and I defend my Life and the lives of my Family. I will not let a group of House Democrats who want to take away guns take away my constitutional right to protect myself.”
Eighty-two sitting and new Republican members of Congress joined a letter in support of Bobert, saying, “If lawmakers can’t bring guns to the Capitol, they can’t protect themselves as they head to office. The ‘last mile’ of self-protection is critical. Changing the current rules could create new problems that could lead to physical attacks and real risks to lawmakers. Most importantly, members must be able to defend themselves once lawmakers are unprotected by Capitol Police once they enter public places and streets.”
In response, 21 Democratic lawmakers dissented, sending a letter to House Speaker Pelosi and House Minority Leader McCarthy asking that Bobert be banned from coming to work with a firearm. They said, “This action would pose an unnecessary risk to members of Congress, their staff, Capitol Police and visitors to the Capitol grounds.”
In the wake of the Jan. 6 protesters’ break-in at the Capitol, Congress, citing security needs, announced increased metal detecting and security screening of congressional staff and members of Congress, procedures that until then had only been for outside visitors.
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