By Paul Lathrop | Contributing Editor
Congressman Jared Huffman (D-Second District) has filed a bill that would change the rules in the U.S. House of Representatives to disallow members of Congress to carry a firearm on Capitol Hill.
The Lost Coast Outpost is reporting that Huffman has three co-sponsors, Reps. Jackie Speier from California’s 14th District, Andre Cardon of Indiana, and Eleanor Holmes Norton of the District of Columbia.
The bill, which they have dubbed the “No congressional Gun Loophole Act,” would reverse a 53-year-old rule that exempts members of Congress from the firearm ban at the Capitol Buildings.
In a Facebook post announcing the legislation, Huffman said the bill was inspired by “race riots” in Washington DC and added, “Members, mostly white men, were afraid and wanted to have their own guns just in case.”
“Today, the Capitol is one of the most fortified and secure places on Earth,” he asserted, “including heavily armed, specially trained Capitol Police all over the place. Even the most paranoid member of Congress could not justify why they need guns at work. Yet some members insist on it. And the ones who are loudest about it always seem to be the most brazen and reckless — the ones most likely to cause an accident or something worse.”
“Now think about everyone who is gathered in the House Chamber,” Huffman continued, “during a State of the Union Address or a speech by a foreign leader to a joint session of Congress. Imagine your favorite unhinged members of Congress sitting there with guns. Maybe one of the new GOP members who subscribes to the Q-Anon conspiracy theory and believes Trump’s lies about election fraud. Maybe one of the members who talks rapturously about carrying out violent biblical prophecies. This isn’t the plot of a Tom Clancy novel; it’s a very real security problem and a ticking bomb that nobody wants to think or talk about. …”
The press release from Huffman’s office contained the following quote: “Threats of political violence are on the rise, and it makes all of us less safe if Members of Congress and their staff don’t have to comply with gun safety standards,” said Rep. Huffman. “Members should not be above the law. These outdated and dangerous rules, that apply to everyone else who visits and works in the halls of Congress, must be modernized for everyone’s safety.”
