D.C. Police Investigating 2 GOP Congressmen for Posing with AR-15 in U.S. Capitol

Tina NguyenApr 21st, 2015, 1:41 pm
 

Why, hello there, two congressmen holding a semi-automatic rifle in the halls of Congress. How are you doing, and, by the way, is that gun allowed in there?!

According to The Hill, it probably isn’t! The tweet, sent out by Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO), is currently under investigation by the District of Columbia’s Metropolitan Police Department, because possessing an AR-15 is 100% illegal in the District! Guns themselves are super highly 100% forbidden while roaming Capitol Hill, and staffers and visitors are often arrested for trying to bring guns into the Capitol building and office complex.

There are exceptions, however: According to National Journal, lawmakers and their staffers are allowed to carry licensed guns, as long as they are “unloaded and securely wrapped”, but cannot take them in certain areas of the U.S. Capitol. It’s unclear, however, whether this law permits congressmen to carry semi-automatic weapons as well as handguns. (For obvious reasons, law enforcement officials are allowed to pack heat.)

Rep. Buck told The Hill not to worry, the gun’s nothing more than a “a beautiful, patriotic paper weight”:

Buck told The Hill the rifle is “inoperable” and that he received approval from U.S. Capitol Police to bring it to his office, where it is on display in a locked case.

“I have a very patriotic AR-15 hanging in my office. It hangs directly above my Second Amendment flag,” Buck said.

“While safety protocols call for all guns to be treated as if they are loaded, this one isn’t. Further, a close inspection of the only public photo of the rifle will show that the bolt carrier assembly is not in the rifle; it is in fact in Colorado.”

Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC), also seen in the picture, has not commented on whether the gun can actually hold papers down.

[Featured image via Ken Buck/Twitter]

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