Rep. Boebert Returns Fire On Charges Of 'Gun Fetish'

Under fire for displaying multiple guns as Zoom background for a House committee meeting, Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., snapped back at the Democrats for their proposal to ban firearms in the hearing room at Capitol.

Boebert, an outspoken supporter of the Second Amendment who owned a gun-themed restaurant in Rifle, Colorado, had earlier promised to carry her Glock to Congress in response to a Democratic push for stricter gun control on the Capitol Grounds.

Firearms are banned on the Capitol Grounds but a 1967 regulation exempts members of Congress from the federal law. Boebert had also put out a viral ad in which she apparently strapped a Glock to her hips before walking through the Capitol Hills and alleys. D.C. gun laws does not recognize conceal-carry weapons from other states.

She courted further controversy when she sat in front of multiple high-capacity firearms to attend a virtual meeting of the Natural Resources Committee to discuss a rule prohibiting guns in the hearing room. Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif, who revived a years-long effort to ban members of Congress from carrying guns on the Capitol Grounds, accused her of having a "gun fetish".

“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 and at some point we will get past the COVID epidemic and we’ll all start showing up in person and our safety and our ability to conduct business civilly, without feeling threatened, is a relevant consideration, unfortunately.”

Later at night, Boebert told Fox News that Huffman's "disdain for the Constitution was on full display."

"Rather than having a productive debate about policy ... Democrats were too busy mocking the Constitution and disrespecting the everyday Americans that I was elected to represent," said Boebert.

"This was my first committee hearing and the chairman couldn't stop attacking, degrading, and insulting committee members," she continued. "I am busy fighting against the left's real fetish for power and stripping Americans of their constitutional rights."

Her brash display of firearms was also being called out for 'unsafe' storage of guns. Room Rater Twitter account shared her picture on Twitter, rating her a 0/10, said: "Unsafe gun storage is no laughing matter. Is this Fascist fraulein really the best Colorado’s 3rd CD can do?"

Boebert hit back: "These are ready for use."

As per the new rules, members who do not follow security protocols, including walking through metal detectors into the House chamber, would be fined. Boebert was one of the members who protested the rule. The rule was ultimately approved by a voice vote.

"The Second Amendment is very much a part of the Constitution of the United States," she said after she was called out for the gun display on Thursday.

"How about the Nineteenth Amendment? Can women vote in this committee?" asked Boebert. "Why does anyone think that they can cherry-pick the Second Amendment and say this is the one enumerated right that we can take away from people?"

Boebert is next up for reelection in 2022 and gun rights formed a key part of her campaign for last November's election.