D.C. Police to contact New GOP Rep. Boebert about plans to bring Glock to Capitol

The police chief in Washington, D.C., said Monday that he plans to reach out to new GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert about her stated plan to carry a Glock handgun in the city, which has strict gun restrictions despite its soaring murder rate.

During a press conference, Chief Robert Contee III was asked about the Colorado lawmaker’s intention to carry a gun to the Capitol. He said he wants to ensure that "she is aware of the what the laws of the District of Columbia are."

"That congresswoman will be subjected to the same penalties as anyone else that’s caught on the D.C. streets carrying a firearm," Contee said.

On Friday, Boebert -- who owns a restaurant in Colorado and open-carries a weapon -- wrote a letter to House leadership urging them to keep intact a 1967 rule that exempts lawmakers from a ban on carrying firearms inside the Capitol building.

"I refuse to give up my Second Amendment rights," Boebert said in a statement. "I’m a 5-foot tall, 100-pound mom with four children and will be walking to work and serving in one of the most dangerous cities in the U.S. I choose to defend my family and my life with all of the force the Constitution provides. I will not let a bunch of gun-grabbing House Democrats take away my Constitutional right to protect myself."

Her letter, signed by 82 other current and incoming GOP Congress members -- including Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), Mo Brooks (R-AK), Louie Gohmert (R-TX), and Matt Gaetz (R-FL) -- "came three days after 21 Democratic lawmakers asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (D-CA) to change the 53-year-old rule to keep Boebert from carrying her gun into work," Fox News reported.

While Democrats considered changing the rule, a rules package introduced by House leaders last week and passed on Monday did not include the change.

Lawmakers can have weapons as long as they're stored in the members' offices and transported unloaded.

Boebert released a three-minute video on Sunday, which opens with her grabbing a gun on a table, chambering a round and then holstering the weapon behind her sport coat.

"I'm a newly elected congresswoman from Colorado. 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," Boebert says in the video.

"I will carry my firearm in D.C., and in Congress. This caused outrage from Democrats in the media. Why? It's our job in Congress to defend your rights, including your Second Amendment, and that's exactly what I'm here to do. In DC, of all places, we should be encouraged to practice our rights."

"So forget what you hear in the fake news. Here are the real reasons why I choose to defend myself in our nation's capital. I'm a woman and a mother of four. I choose to defend my family with all of the force the Constitution provides. D.C. is one of the top 10 most dangerous cities in our country. Homicide rates and violent crimes are skyrocketing here.

"Being a member of Congress is pretty basic. I don't go to work in a motorcade or armored car. I don't get police escorts everywhere I go. I walk to my office every morning by myself. So as a five-foot-tall, 100- pound woman, I choose to protect myself legally, because I am my best security," Boebert says.