House Democrats want law enforcement officials to consider banning lawmakers from bringing guns into the Capitol and neighboring office buildings, a move that seems aimed specifically at GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado.
On Wednesday, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland wrote to the Capitol Police Board, urging it to extend the long-standing firearm ban to lawmakers, who are typically exempt from any security screening when entering buildings within the complex.
Hoyer asked the board, which meets as early as this week, to assess current rules allowing members of Congress to keep guns in their personal offices, which are located in buildings adjacent to the Capitol, and to “assess whether a complete ban on firearms in the Capitol Complex should be instituted.”
Lawmakers are prohibited from taking guns into the House chamber, committee rooms, or adjoining committee suites, but they are only subject to a security screening outside the chamber and nowhere else in the complex.
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Members of Congress can carry guns in the halls and on Capitol grounds if they possess a firearm license.
In addition to considering a complete ban, Hoyer wants the board to post rules and regulations regarding firearms “prominently around the complex” and for the board to clarify who is allowed to bring firearms on the Capitol grounds and into the buildings.
Hoyer’s letter followed dramatic steps taken by Democratic leaders to increase security in the past year, mostly due to fear among party lawmakers that certain GOP members posed a danger to them.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi took the unprecedented step of installing metal detectors at the doors to the House chamber after Democrats said they felt threatened by Republicans.
Boebert announced after her 2020 victory that she would carry her Glock on Capitol Hill. Boebert’s gun terrified Democrats, who feared she might take aim at them in the House chamber during a heated moment.
Other lawmakers carry concealed guns and other weapons, around the Capitol and the grounds, citing high crime in Washington, D.C.
Rep. Andy Harris, a Maryland Republican, was carrying a concealed gun when he entered the chamber early last year, setting off the metal detector. Harris left and returned without the gun.
Members face steep fines for bypassing the metal detectors at the House chamber doors. So far, only Republicans have been fined despite their argument that Pelosi and other high-ranking Democrats have skirted the screening.
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“It is my hope that you will use this opportunity to discuss necessary revisions to your current firearms regulations,” Hoyer wrote.
The Capitol Police Board is made up of the sergeant-at-arms of both the House and Senate, the Capitol architect, and the Capitol Police chief.
