{"id":140441,"date":"2021-01-20T10:33:04","date_gmt":"2021-01-20T15:33:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=140441"},"modified":"2021-01-20T10:33:04","modified_gmt":"2023-09-07T07:01:12","slug":"congresspeople-arm-up-in-the-wake-of-violence-at-the-capitol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/congresspeople-arm-up-in-the-wake-of-violence-at-the-capitol\/","title":{"rendered":"Congresspeople Arm Up in the Wake of Violence at the Capitol"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Congresspeople
Rep. Nancy Mace said she plans to carry a firearm at the Capitol from now on. (Photo: Rep. Mace Facebook)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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As law enforcement and media agencies release more information about the violent invasion of the U.S. Capitol earlier this month, lawmakers are getting a better sense of how close<\/a> some of the rioters came to finding their quarry \u2013 and some congresspeople have decided to take their personal safety into their own hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Multiple representatives have expressed gratitude that they were armed when rioters stormed the building or have made plans to arm up in preparation for future attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe next member who argues Congressmen shouldn\u2019t be allowed to carry firearms at work needs to be laughed out of the Capitol. Several of us were glad to be armed while barricaded for hours in our offices with our staff,\u201d Rep. Thomas Massie said on Twitter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next member who argues Congressmen shouldn\u2019t be allowed to carry firearms at work needs to be laughed out of the Capitol. Several of us were glad to be armed while barricaded for hours in our offices with our staff. https:\/\/t.co\/faxRlAt6xw<\/a><\/p>\u2014 Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) January 8, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote> \n\n\n\n

Freshman South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace told WCJL<\/a> that she plans to carry a firearm on Capitol Hill moving forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I felt personally like a sitting duck,” Mace said, referring to the riot. \u201cWe didn’t have a way to protect ourselves; we didn’t have security on us; we didn’t have firearms protecting us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI will not be put in that situation again,\u201d she concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even before the attack at the Capitol, Mace was in the process of obtaining her concealed carry license, according to a December 31 Facebook post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

SEE ALSO: California Reps. Call Gun-Carrying Congresspeople \u2018Unhinged,\u2019 Introduce Bill to Ban Guns<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In addition to Mace and Massie, freshman Rep. Madison Cawthorn has said<\/a> he was carrying a firearm at the Capitol, and freshman Rep. Lauren Boebert vowed<\/a> during her campaign to carry her Glock while on the Hill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 1967 law exempted members of Congress from adhering to the same rules that prevent members of the public from carrying firearms on Capitol grounds. Before the attack at the Capitol, two California congresspeople had introduced a bill<\/a> that would rescind that law and prohibit elected representatives from carrying firearms. Prompted by Rep. Boebert\u2019s public comments about her Glock, other representatives had also expressed discomfort with their colleagues carrying firearms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their comments have not aged well:<\/p>\n\n\n\n