Elected to the U.S. House from Rifle, Colorado, the owner of Shooters Grill, Lauren Boebert, says she’ll carry her firearm in Washington D.C. and in Congress. The District of Columbia has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation, and the local police chief said he plans to speak with Rep. Boebert about her rights and responsibilities. Would the partisan division in Congress take a more civil tone if more Representatives and Senators exercised their 2nd Amendment rights?
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40 replies on “Civil Discourse: Rep. Lauren Boebert Pledges to Carry Firearm in D.C. and in Congress”
Superb young woman, I will be happy to contribute to her defense fund. Go get them Congresswoman!
at the end Scott got it right: this should not be a news story at all.
There is a recent book on this very topic.
The Field Of Blood. Violence In Congress and the Road to Civil War. By Joanne B. Freeman
In the few years before the Civil War, virtually everyone in Congress was armed with either a firearm or a Bowie Knife. Guns have been pulled on the House floor. Duel challenges were not uncommon. The U.S. Congress at the time was referred to as an “armed camp.” Congressmen’s lives were threatened.
Most memorable story: (p. 253) “. . .a near duel between Roger Pryor (D-VA) and John “Bowie Knife” Potter (R-WI), the clash that earned Potter his nickname. Pryor was a bully of the first order, involving himself in at least five confrontations that session. The Maine native Potter was likewise ‘a most uncomfortable antagonist to run against in a conflict,’ noted a friend. (A conflict arose between the two men). Pryor initiated formal duel negotiations. . . .Potter accepted Pryor’s challenge and chose bowie knives as weapons. When Pryor refused to fight with such ‘vulgar’ weapons, Republicans rejoiced, celebrating Potter’s fighting-man gumption.”
Scott’s reply is well thought out but I disagree…This is not a women’s right issue but a people’s right. Also, I feel that if legislative reps carrying guns into the chambers resulted in “more civility” between members, that would be an argument AGAINST the 2nd amendment… We are allowed to carry arms precisely BECAUSE we won’t (by and large) just shoot people out of anger. Thus being armed should not affect rep’s civility in any way…a moral compass and genuine care for the country should produce the requisite civility.
Bill’s (prior) comment, “I don’t care about any of that” and cutting right to the issue is dead-on right.
I think Scott was going with a satirical sort of response. While all of what he said was true, he seemed to take pains to pick angles that are used by the Left in their various causes, especially his Choice line.
Occasionally I think the best argument to use is your opponents’.
Good point!
I perceive your heart and mind are in the right place WRT the 2nd Amendment. But I find your language offputting, and thus sort of wrong: “We are allowed to carry arms precisely BECAUSE we won’t (by and large) just shoot people out of anger.”
Allowing implies a positive right (aka, a privilege), not a negative right granted by our innate human nature and the human condition (and for which we must continually demand and fight to retain, it appears). We have the right to carry arms precisely because we don’t want someone else to shoot us out of anger.
It would be nice if the 2nd were further amended for clarifying that this right exists 1) for self defense, and 2) to resist the development and implementation of a tyrannical government, regardless of the status of a militia.
I agree completely… It is not a right “given” by any authority …it is a natural right… My wording was perhaps poor or unclear.
After yesterday’s spectacle I suspect other congress critters will as well.
I have a cc permit, carry everyday. No, I don’t fancy myself a cop, but if shots are fired, lets say in a parking lot, I will first seek cover and draw my weapon and keep it pointed down by my side. I will then try and locate the shooter, and if he or she are still going through the parking area killling shoppers at random, I will try to get into a position to engage in order to stop the slaughter. I consider this to be my duty as a armed citizen, as I am probably the only hope they have until the police arrive, and running away simply leaves them defenseless. Not an option in my book.
Hey, Steve, what women other than a Lib., Transgender or Lesbian doesn’t have a huge crush on Dan Crenshaw?
Yea, even my wife has a crush on Dan…she does call him Patch, as her eyes trail off…I’m a good sport about it.
An old poem about the Colt 1911 handgun that applies to handguns in general —
“The lusty gun, the trusty gun,
The weapon Democratic.
Which by its might,
Makes men one height,
The Government Automatic.”
Treacherous wench … Buy a Colt, a Springfield, a Smith & Wesson or some other American handgun! Not only are they American, anyone who manages to grab yours away from you will lose precious seconds trying to figure out the safety and will probably drop the magazine instead. With a Glock you just put your finger on the trigger and pull. Which is a big part of the appeal of a Glock because most people don’t want to bother training themselves or getting training in the three carry conditions.
Just kidding about the “treacherous wench” thing, btw. We need a lot more women like this one.
We don’t need no steenking safeties. A holster will suffice.
Lol! I carried a 1911 pattern handgun of various configurations and sizes for many, many years so I’m prejudiced. I have an inordinate and abiding fondness for the ol’ corn-husker. Properly tuned and set up it’s one of the safest, most reliable, most accurate systems ever devised by the mind of man. But …
You definitely need to train yourself to thumb the safety off at a certain point in mid draw or you’ll be pointing a weapon that will not fire at the problem confronting you.
I’ve seen many instances of that happening when people not properly instilled with the right “muscle memory” were under stress. There are few things as stressful as drawing a handgun in gravest extreme. A lot of people think “I can do it, not a problem” but until they actually have to do it … Maybe not so much.
Then again, I know at least two people who have blown a hole in something like a bathroom floor when just unholstering a Glock under no stress at all. Those people were not idiots, novices or unfamiliar with their firearm. They just had a moment of carelessness and put their finger in the trigger guard when it should not have been there.
Well I see they got the page loads working a lot snappier. It’s much better today, I don’t have to go start a cup of coffee, make a phone call, get the cup of coffee and come back to the keyboard just to kill time between page loads.
A rare glimpse at the humour of Scott Ott poking fun at leftist linguistics. We need more of this.
We’ll see how long she carries after she’s been “briefed”.
D.C. is not a state (yet). They’ve created their own little country within a once great nation.
I’m also interested in what she’ll actually DO while in.
I’m encouraged that Ms. Boebert was elected as she faced considerable headwind in many communities raising funds and holding rallies. Brighter days ahead for Colorado.
That’s sad to hear since her district is supposed to be red. 🙁
Yeah … so is Texas.
Steve mentions bearing arms means using or carrying them. An older blog I wrote “2nd Amendment Ramble” mentions that and other things about arms……Which are not limited to guns.
Did I hear Switzerland as example? Can’t put it in the context, isn’t that the place where everyone is permanently enlisted and has a gun along with mandatory annual training to use it? Or almost that?
They have a standing citizen army as far as I am aware.
Bill used the international gun crimes or muders per capita (I forget which) but the video is from 2014 or so. Several European states with sizable cities do have a non negligible amount of crime since there are always black markets and people not willing to leave disputes to the police, no matter how polite the rest of the country is.
Comparing a country to a city like Plano Texas, which was one of his examples, might not be the most fair but he also compared cities like Baltimore, Chicago, NYC and LA (IIRC) to whole countries based more on the local gun laws. The high crime locations pretty well match the high control areas and having a lot of “you can’t have” laws really doesn’t matter much to criminals.
The safety of gun friendly zones isn’t a good argument because the gun laws are not to promote safety or security. And we all know it.
Hey, you stole my stolen* avatar and cropped it. Go find your own, I don’t want people confusing you and me.
(*I do not have permission to use that artwork and that makes it “stolen” by technicality.)
Spy versus Spy. I am eager to see how this dispute plays out.
Lol … Well being as I can’t force anyone to do anything on this site it will depend on the honor of the other guy. Which I have no control over and can only make my objection and displeasure known.
I’ve had a lot of people tell me they loved my avatar, I’ve never had one who loved it so much as to steal it from me and use it, or a portion of it, for their own..
The avatar is a long-standing inside joke. If you knew me personally you’d “get it”. If I had to explain it the effect would be completely negated so I won’t.
I suppose it is more a case of Spy vs (Spy vs Spy), if we get our order of operations correct.
Lol, good one.
maybe he will switch back and forth between the white and black version, thereby showing his neutrality with regard to SOC’s (spys of color). [spies of color?] and somewhere ROY G BIV can also make a contribution.
Have you noticed how many of the multicolor flags and banners used at protests/ demonstrations in fact do not have the I color. All indigo people should rise up in protest !
… or even people who woke up this morning and decided to identify themselves as an indigo person, or felt that one day they or anyone else might do so, ought to be outraged!
I’ve assumed you are joking and am doing as I please.
“I’ve assumed you were joking …”
Actually, no I wasn’t.
“… and am doing as I please.”
Of course you are. You’re a pogue and that is what pogues do. Go ahead and steal the whole thing while you’re at it.
I only used that avatar because I had used it elsewhere and Scott Ott would know me by it. Now that it has your filthy thieving cyber-grote all over it I don’t want it anymore. You’re welcome to it, pogue.
“If honor be your clothing, the suit will last a lifetime; but if clothing be your honor, it will soon be threadbare.” -William Arnot
EDIT: The fact that you had to be shamed into doing the right thing and coming up with your own avatar changes not the tiniest thing. Your lack of apology proves that.
Here’s a thought: Don’t do shameful things and shame will not be an issue for you.
You are correct, gun laws are not to promote safety or security. But, having the loose rules is why the gun friendly zones are as good and safe as they are. As has been said many times,“An armed society is a polite society.”
This will last one day max.
She should absolutely be able to carry her firearm. It would be really great if the Chief would stop her on the way to the House building. It is illegal to arrest or detain a House member on their way to the house for a vote or other official work.
Keep your tools on you.
Bill’s statement that everyone born in the USA is born with the right to bear arms rings true in the ears of all American patriots.
I should be able to travel anywhere in this country without first having to verify reciprocity or concern myself with any niggling ordinance, law, guideline, bureaucratic rule or any other restrictions enacted by any state, county, city, town, municipality, or any other local authority that attempts to restrict my right to keep and bear arms.
I seem to recall that “shall not be infringed” is written somewhere.
“Shall not” leaves no room for niggling.