New Republican rep and QAnon follower Lauren Boebert has asked Capitol Hill police about openly carrying her handgun

During orientation for new members, QAnon sympathizer Lauren Boebert, a newly-elected member of Congress, asked US Capitol Police if she can carry her gun in the Capitol

The practice is allowed for lawmakers, with some limitations

Lawmakers do not go through security scanners to get into Capitol

The gun-toting hard-right conservative who has expressed support for QAnon conspiracy theories, runs Shooters Grill, a gun-themed restaurant in Rifle, Colorado

She was elected from a western Colorado district after gaining notice as a brash, Trump loving, pro-gun activist who straps a Glock pistol to her hip

In the June primaries Boebert upset five-term Rep. Scott Tipton for the GOP nomination, in part by claiming he wasn’t an ardent enough backer of President Donald Trump

A newly elected congresswoman-elect who owns a gun-themed restaurant in Rifle, Colorado, has already asked Capitol Police about carrying her weapon on Capitol grounds, her office has acknowledged. If she does so, she apparently won’t be alone.
The practice is allowed for lawmakers, with some limitations, under decades-old congressional regulations. However, members of the public are barred from carrying weapons in the Capitol, its grounds and office buildings.
QAnon follower Lauren Boebert, 33, ia a gun-loving Republican was elected this month from a conservative western Colorado district after gaining notice as a brash pro-gun activist who straps a Glock pistol to her hip.
In an upset last June, Boebert defeated five-term Rep. Scott Tipton for the GOP nomination, in part by claiming he wasn’t an ardent enough backer of President Donald Trump.

Boebert enquired from Capitol Police officials about carrying her weapon when she and other House freshmen taking office in January were in town earlier in the month for orientation programs, according to two congressional officials.
Boebert, who Trump endorsed as ‘a fighter’ who will ‘never bow down to the establishment in Congress,’ runs Shooters Grill, a gun-themed restaurant in Rifle, Colorado.

According to Capitol Police who acknowledged that they’ve ‘been made aware’ of inquiries about carrying weapons, ‘There is no standing requirement’ that lawmakers notify [us] when they carry a firearm in the Capitol’. ‘
‘Regulations require safe storage of weapons, but ‘that responsibility resides with the Member,’ they said.

A 1967 regulation says no federal or District of Columbia laws restricting firearms ‘shall prohibit any Member of Congress from maintaining firearms within the confines of his office’ or ‘from transporting within Capitol grounds firearms unloaded and securely wrapped.’
The regulations as highlighted gun activist, Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., says members may not bring weapons into the House chamber and other nearby areas. Aides can carry lawmakers´ weapons for them on the Capitol complex.
An opponent of letting members of Congress carry guns on Capitol grounds, Huffman abandoned a 2018 effort to halt the practice due to strong opposition from colleagues.
The loophole for lawmakers, adopted after a summer of racial unrest in American cities, is outdated and risky, Huffman says. Members and their staff carry firearms around the Capitol ‘all the time,’ though he mentioned no names.
Lawmakers keep guns in their publicly accessible offices. ‘Members could have a loaded AK47 sitting on their desk and no one would ever do anything about it,’ Huffman said.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., chairman of the House Second Amendment Caucus, justified letting lawmakers carry weapons, citing the 2017 shooting when a gunman wounded Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., and four other people as they practiced baseball in nearby Alexandria, Virginia.
Also supporting Boebert is Rep Congresswoman-elect Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who like Boebert is a hard-right conservative with a penchant for attracting publicity.
Greene like Boebert has expressed support for QAnon conspiracy theories, though both have tried distancing themselves from the unfounded beliefs.
‘Not only do I support members of Congress carrying a firearm, I believe every American has that right.’ Greene said in a statement.
‘I will work every day to end ALL gun free zones.’

The regulations letting lawmakers carry guns was written by the Capitol Police Board, which consists of four of Congress’ top law enforcement and administrative officials.
However, Capitol Police have been known to periodically arrest people caught trying to bring firearms into the Capitol and its buildings.