Legislator tensions are running high this week after a Republican lawmaker nearly dropped a gun on the floor of the House, raising concerns about the safety of the Capitol and whether members of Congress need protection from each other. got even bigger.
The renewed fear, just two weeks after the January 6 deadly attack, was fueled by Rep. Andy Harris
Andrew (Andy) Peter Harris An Attack On America With A Divided Congress – And A Nation Here Are The House Republicans Who Voted To Impeach Trump ‘I Saw My Life Flash Before My Eyes’: An Oral History Of The Capitol Attack MORE (R-Md.) When he set off a newly installed metal detector with a hidden gun off the floor of the house, despite a long-term ban on firearms in the room.
The incident followed numerous reports from other Republicans, who were used to bypassing metal detectors in the Capitol and resenting the new security measures. Some Democrats now openly state that they do not feel safe with certain colleagues.
The ongoing anger and distrust in the aftermath of this month’s Capitol attack by Trump supporters has led some lawmakers to fear heated debates could turn violent.
“Look, the temperature is politically high right now,” Rep. Jared Huffman
Jared William Huffman Scars from Capitol Attack Pierce High-Security Inauguration Trust Between Lawmakers Hits All-Time Lows After Capitol Riots OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Capitol in Chaos | Trump’s Arctic Refuge drill sales earn only a fraction of the GOP forecast | EPA notes fuel efficiency has dropped and pollution has increased MORE for 2019 vehicles (D-Calif.) Told The Hill. “It is insane to rely on an honor system that can cause something very tragic to happen. And I’d say it’s just a matter of time before it happens. “
Rep. Kathleen Rice
Kathleen Maura Rice Trust Between Lawmakers Hits Historic Lows After Capitol Riots Trump’s Georgia Call Leads to Criminal Sanctions Debate Georgian District Attorney Says She Will “ Enforce Law Without Fear or Favor ” Following Trump Call MORE (DN.Y.) said she could never have imagined violence would break out during the debate on the floor when she first started serving in the House of Representatives in 2015. Now, she says, it’s a different story.
“You can’t be afraid that the person you’re having a little fight with on the floor while C-SPAN is watching will pull a gun and shoot you,” Rice said.
‘If you’d said that to me six years ago, I’d say,’ Anyone who fears that is crazy. That would never happen. ‘ Now? Sorry. All bets are off. It’s a completely different climate. Totally different climate. And we must recognize that. “
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Ocasio-Cortez says lawmakers are worried colleagues will sneak firearms onto the floor of the house. (DN.Y.) – who revealed that she had had a “ close meeting ” on January 6 – citing security concerns for not attending President Biden’s inauguration, saying during an interview on CNN’s ‘Cuomo Prime Time’ that ‘we still don’t feel safe around other members of Congress. “
The metal detectors were installed last week after freshman GOP representatives Lauren Boebert (Colo.) And Madison Cawthorn (NC) publicly talked about carrying their weapons around Capitol Hill. Both were also among several House Republicans who engaged in inflammatory rhetoric promoting former President Trump
Donald Trump McCarthy says he has rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has said he disagreed with her impeachment articles against Biden Biden, Trudeau agreed to meet next month Trump planned to impeach acting AG to reverse Georgia’s election results‘s false allegations of electoral fraud prior to the attack on the Capitol that killed five people.
Legislators have occasionally turned violent in debates over heated floors in the past. Many of the physical disagreements broke out during battles over slavery in the 1800s, including the infamous caning from abolitionist Senator Charles Sumner in 1856 and a House-floor debate in 1858 that led to fists between Pennsylvania Republican Galusha Grow and South Carolina Democrat Laurence Keitt before more than 30 lawmakers joined the fray.
Earlier this month, a fight nearly broke out between lawmakers – Harris included – during a late-night debate over a GOP challenge to Electoral College results just hours after the pro-Trump crowd sacked the Capitol.
There are currently no penalties for lawmakers circumventing the Capitol Police while entering the House floor. But Parliament is expected to vote to impose fines – $ 5,000 for a first offense, $ 10,000 for subsequent offenses – when it’s back in session the first week of February.
Members of Congress are exempt from regulations banning guns on Capitol grounds and, until last week, from metal detectors in the complex.
Lawmakers can keep weapons in their offices or transport them – unloaded and securely packed – to another location in the Capitol under a 1967 rule. But they are prohibited from taking them into the rooms of the house or the senate or adjacent areas.
All staff, journalists, and visitors, meanwhile, must pass through metal detectors to enter the Capitol or surrounding office buildings, and must not carry firearms anywhere on the property unless specifically authorized.
Harris’s office suggested the gun the Maryland Republican was carrying as for self-defense, saying he and his family had recently faced security threats.
Since his and his family’s life has been threatened by someone released pending trial for security reasons, the congressman never confirms whether he or anyone else he works with has a firearm for self-defense. Public records state that he has a Maryland Handgun Permit. And the congressman always sticks to the metal detectors and the magic wand of the house. The Congressman has never carried a firearm on the floor of the House, ”Harris’s office said in a statement.
Lawmakers in both parties have faced a spike in threats against them since 2016. Some argue that the greater threat to lawmakers comes from extremists who also threaten family members.
“I think more of the threat is less about the members, frankly, and more about others who are like the lawless criminals who attacked the Capitol and these domestic terror groups that have clearly led us to have 20,000 National Guard around the Capitol. set up, ”said Rep. Josh Gottheimer
Joshua (Josh) GottheimerGOP Troubleshooters Caucus Co-Chair Says He Will Vote For, 000 Checks House Pass Massive Spending Agreement Winning Senate Vote. McConnell is getting a lot of what he wants in the emerging aid deal MORE (DN.J.).
The New Jersey Democrat distributes a letter calling for increased security for members ‘offices, regular briefings from Capitol security officials, and attempts to keep members’ personal information off the Internet.
It is not clear how long National Guard troops will remain in the Capitol or when the 8-foot fence will be removed.
Minority leader in the Senate Mitch McConnell
Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnell Trump Impeachment Trial Begins Week of Feb. 8 Democrats Enroll 14th Amendment to Dismiss Trump from Office Biden Indicates He Is Willing To Postpone Trump Trial MORE (R-Ky.) Said Friday that “to keep the Capitol safe, massive numbers of uniformed troops and elaborate emergency fence systems cannot and will not be needed to remain in place forever.”
Her. Chris Murphy
Christopher (Chris) Scott Murphy Democrats Push Up 14th Amendment To Fire Trump Senate Approves Waiver For Biden’s Pentagon-nominee Democrats Shoot McConnell’s Filibuster Gamble MORE (Conn.), The top Democrat in the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that oversees the funding of the legislature, rejected the idea of installing magnetometers to enter the upper chamber.
“Our members seem to be much more responsible for building security so far,” said Murphy.
In the meantime, some House Democrats, led by Huffman and Rice, say the magnetometers should be made permanent outside the room of the house, in addition to ending the gun exemption for lawmakers.
Both acknowledged that it may also be time to require lawmakers to go through metal detectors while entering office buildings in the Capitol complex, like everyone else.
“Just treat members like any other member of the public who enters the Capitol,” said Huffman. “You can’t have an honor system with dishonorable people who think the rules don’t apply to them.”