The Washington, D.C., police chief warned a Republican congresswoman about the city’s restrictive gun laws to which “there are no exceptions.”
Rep. Lauren Boebert, Colorado Republican, posted to her Twitter account a three-minute video showing her concealing a handgun and walking around the District.
Watch yourself, warned Chief Robert Contee III on Monday when asked about the video at a press conference.
“What I will say to that is — there are no exceptions in the District of Columbia,” he said. “We plan to reach out to the congresswoman’s office to make sure that she is aware what the laws of the District of Columbia are, what the restrictions are.”
Chief Contee warned that “that congresswoman … will be subjected to the same penalties as anyone else that’s caught on a District of Columbia street carrying a firearm unlawfully.”
Ms. Boebert’s video suggests at least some awareness of those laws as she loads a Glock, slides it into a concealed holster and walks around the U.S. Capitol and elsewhere in Washington.
“Even though I now work in one of the most liberal cities in America, I refuse to give up my rights, especially my Second Amendment rights,” she says in the video.
It’s not clear from the video whether she is carrying the gun outside the Capitol complex, where members can carry guns and the District’s city laws do not apply.
The Denver Post reported that Ms. Boebert’s office did not return a request for comment on the chief’s warning, but that she told Colorado Public Radio that she will not break any laws.
“I will always be carrying my firearm lawfully,” she said. “I have gone through the concealed carry courses. There is a concealed carry permit for Washington, D.C. I have already gone through those courses. So, the D.C. chief of police is welcome to contact me.”
Ms. Boebert also implied to CPR that the chief was unjustly singling her out.
“I don’t know if he’s contacting each and every person to make sure that they’re following all the traffic laws. If I said I was coming to drive in Washington, D.C., maybe he’d need to call me and let me know exactly what their traffic laws are. To think that I’m ignorant of D.C. carry laws just because I said I will carry is a little absurd,” she said.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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