A ‘most partisan’ committee drops its gun ban

Panel had banned firearms from its committee room when Democrats were in charge

February 01, 2023

Some members of the House Natural Resources Committee could be packing heat when they gather in the new session of Congress.

The panel on Wednesday dropped a rule it adopted in 2021, when Democrats were in the majority, that expressly prohibited its members from bringing firearms into their hearing room.

The committee, a common stage for passionate disagreement, sparred over firearm training and personal safety during an organizing session at which its assignment was to adopt rules for how it will conduct business. It eventually approved the rules package by a party-line vote of 24-14 — excluding the prohibition on firearms.

Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., sought to reinsert the provision,  included in the rules for the 117th Congress, that prohibited carrying a firearm or other dangerous weapon except under narrow circumstances, such as  active-duty law enforcement.

“We have too many members who have incited and advocated for armed political violence. That is really unfortunate, but that is just a fact,” Huffman said.

Huffman added that he believed some members of the committee have “openly fetishized guns and violence,” pointing to the censure and removal of Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., from his committees last Congress after he posted an animated video that depicted him killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. Gosar was reinstated to the committee after Republicans retook the majority, while Ocasio-Cortez joined the panel this year.

Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., referred to the proposal as an “anti-member safety amendment” and listed past incidents of political violence.

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By:  David Jordan
Source: Roll Call