Lauren Boebert Suggests US Gun Ownership Is Too Low, Calls Gun-Free Zones 'Dangerous'

Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., took to the House floor Wednesday to critique Americans for the number of guns they own, saying "we need to get our numbers up."

Boebert was referencing an unnamed study that claims Americans own 46% of the world's civilian firearms.

There are over 332 million Americans, accounting for about 4.25% of the total global population.

The controversial congresswoman gave the speech during a special order period on the House floor, also focusing her sights on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) after the agency said it will require gun owners to register firearms with pistol braces.

A pistol brace is a firearm attachment that allows a shooter to fire more accurately using one arm. Boebert accused the ATF of violating the separation of powers, saying the new rule "functions like a law that Congress never had."

"ATF Alcohol, tobacco, and firearms," she said. "In western Colorado, we call that a fun weekend. But DC bureaucrats have used this agency to infringe on the rights of the American people."

The ATF is one of the premier government agencies responsible for the control of a variety of illegal paraphernalia. In her speech, Boebert suggested the agency was responsible for making communities "more dangerous by laundering weapons to the cartel," in reference to its "Fast and Furious" gun-walking scandal.

The ATF allowed illegal gun sales between 2009 and 2011 in an effort to track down members of Mexican drug cartels.

Boebert ended her critique of ATF's latest regulation, titled "Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached 'Stabilizing Braces,'" by reiterating her belief that the "Second Amendment is absolute," and claiming that "gun-free zones are the most dangerous places in our country."

There have been over 50 mass shootings in the U.S. since the beginning of 2023, and more than 3,000 people have been killed by gun violence in the same time frame, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

Under the new ATF rule, any weapon that constitutes a rifle with a "stabilizing brace" or similar attachment must be registered within 120 days of the regulation's enactment.

The ATF is facing several lawsuits from its new regulation, including suits brought by veterans in Texas and Wisconsin, who claim the measure violates their right to bear arms.