Clara Helm | Head Editor
January 8, 2020
Lauren Boebert is a newly elected Republican congresswoman from Colorado who is adamant on her protecting her Second Amendment rights. A video was recently released of the Republican Congresswoman carrying her gun around Washington, D.C. “Even though I now work in one of the most liberal cities in America, I refuse to give up my rights,” Boebert says in the video posted on Twitter on Sunday. “So as a five-foot-tall, 100-pound woman I choose to protect myself legally because I am my best security.”
Many are questioning Boebert’s choice to carry in D.C. and have been looking at firearm laws in D.C. and her home state of Colorado.
“I think we should look to D.C.’s laws because while she is in that state she is under the jurisdiction and she needs to obey the laws that are set in place in that area,” senior Trent Stacy said. “I do think that her claim is valid because if she feels as if her security and her ability to carry out her life in a safe manner are being threatened then I believe that she has every right to defend herself. If someone/something is compromising her security then she has the ability to protect herself with whatever it may be.”
According to USCCA, D.C. is a shall-issue district with concealed weapons permits issued by D.C. Metropolitan Police. Here all firearms must be registered, and this process acts as a permit to purchase. Open carry (the ability to openly carry a firearm) is also illegal in D.C.
Colorado is a shall-issue state where concealed carry permits are issued to county residents by local sheriff’s offices. No purchase permits or firearms registration are required for handguns. For transfers of firearms, the seller must request that a licensed dealer perform a background check of the buyer and must get approval of the transfer from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Open carry is legal in Colorado for any person who is at least 18 years old and who can legally possess a firearm, while concealed carry is legal in Colorado for residents over 21 with a Colorado permit to carry a concealed weapon (CCW) and non-residents with a CCW permit from a state that Colorado honors. Clearly, Colorado permits more leniency of firearm rights and has more support for giving the full extent 2nd Amendment.
Boebert states that carry in D.C. is within her constitutional rights due to the laws in Colorado, where she has a concealed carry license. But according to the D.C. Police Chief, she will still be accountable to the same penalties as anyone caring a concealed weapon in D.C. According to USA Carry, a resident concealed carry permit is only good so long as that person is a resident of that state but the permit does not transfer when you are in another state. Even if that state acknowledges someone’s resident concealed carry permit from another state, it does not mean they will transfer it.
“I do think that as a woman in a position of power there is a need for extra protection, but only if used when absolutely necessary,” senior Hannah Hillis said. “Hopefully Lauren Boebert is well trained and is aware of the consequences gun violence and self-protection can have. I think that everyone has a right to carry a gun, under the law, but I personally hope for more gun control. The tests, or lack thereof, to obtain a deadly weapon, are frightening to me. But with better training requirements and other laws, we can make it safer to carry.”
It is relatable and understandable to many women across the country why a young woman would like to protect herself against potential harm, having to live in a country where approximately 1 in 5 (an estimated 25.5 million) women in the U.S. reported completed or attempted rape at some point in their lifetime. Additionally, alternative protection agents such as pepper spray and knives have been shown to be less effective in avoiding attacks and require the woman to get substantially closer to their attacker.
Boebert understands these threats and has witnessed the advantage of firearms after a violent attack at the restaurant she previously owned, but she also understands that D.C. has its own right to different firearm precautions. She states she has gone through the concealed carry courses that D.C. requires to obtain a concealed carry permit. Like a person learning the traffic laws in another state, Boebert sees her gun safety in the same light but fails to see why the Washing D.C police were threatened enough to release a statement that she has to be informed of their laws.
In the end, Boebert will not remain resistant to Washington, D.C.’s laws as a spokesperson for Boebert stated she will “comply with all applicable firearm laws and regulations.” Boebert should be pleased with new rules revealed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi which did not include a proposed ban on firearms in the Capitol that 21 Democratic lawmakers pushed to keep Boebert from carrying her gun to work.
Good info here! A tricky issue with a lot of emotion around it, but you did a great job covering it here.