House Republicans on the Natural Resources Committee rejected an attempt by Democrats to ban firearms from hearings.
The amendment, introduced by Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA), failed on a party-line 25 to 14 vote in the committee’s organizing meeting.
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The panel’s rules prohibited carrying weapons into the hearing room during the last Congress while Democrats were in control, prompting outrage from lawmakers who are Second Amendment advocates. That rule was absent from the rules Republicans put forward and approved on Wednesday.
“My amendment explicitly prohibits carrying or having readily available any firearm, dangerous weapon, explosive, or incendiary device within the hearing rooms and conference rooms of this committee,” Huffman said, and the written amendment expanded that only weapons that are part of exhibits would be allowed.
The Natural Resources Committee includes well-known conservative voices such as Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), and Matt Rosendale (R-MT).
At the beginning of the last Congress in 2021, Boebert loudly objected to the rule banning firearms. In a virtual hearing with guns proudly displayed behind her, she asked to be provided with a security detail if she wouldn’t be allowed to carry her weapon to committee business. She previously ran a restaurant where open carry was encouraged.
“The chairman is trying to take responsibility for my personal safety while stripping away my Second Amendment rights,” Boebert said at the time, suggesting then-Chairman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) personally foot the costs for her protection instead of burdening taxpayers.
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Huffman responded, “Here’s the reality — if somebody wants to have a shrine to their gun fetish as a Zoom backdrop in their private life, they can do that, but this is our hearing room.”
Members of Congress are allowed to carry guns on the Capitol campus. The GOP removed the metal detectors around the House chamber on the first day of the new session, but guns are still prohibited on the floor.
