Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

The Policy Racket

Texan wants lawmakers to be able to carry guns at U.S. Capitol

When lawmakers started talking about making legislative changes to gun laws following the Tucson tragedy, most were talking about bans and restrictions.

Not U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert.

The Republican from Texas is planning to propose legislation that would allow lawmakers to tote guns into the Capitol complex and bring D.C.’s gun laws into parity and reciprocity with the policies of states with far more liberal gun laws.

He’s doing it not to make the nation’s chief lawmaking body a proxy Wild West but to give lawmakers the opportunity to protect themselves.

“There’s so much security inside these buildings, it’s not really an issue,” Gohmert said Tuesday. “And some folks have tried to say we want to be packing and have duels on the floor; that’s not the point at all.

“But there’s an awful lot of states that allow people to carry weapons, and members of Congress, if they want to carry, I think should be able to carry.”

Members of Congress carrying firearms have caused at least one memorable stir in recent years. Virginia Democrat Sen. Jim Webb, a gun rights advocate, took heat in 2007 for packing heat — and passing the gun off to his aide when he tried to enter the Russell Senate Office Building to avoid security scrutiny.

“Senator Webb wouldn’t have to dump off on his poor worker and leave him holding the bag, literally,” Gohmert said. “He’d be able to say, ‘It’s mine, and it’s legal.’”

Not surprisingly, lawmakers like Carolyn McCarthy of New York, who is pushing for legislation to ban high-capacity clips like the one used by the alleged shooter in Tucson, are not welcoming Gohmert’s proposal.

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