Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Chat with Colorado Congresswoman-elect Lauren Boebert, the gun-toting restaurant owner who famously told gun-grabber Beto O’Rourke “Hell, no, you won’t take our guns,” and you might imagine Capitol Hill Democrats frantically yelling, “Incoming!”
Speaking via telephone to AmmoLand, the feisty 33-year-old mother of four who describes her Western Slope neighbors and constituents as “a bunch of rugged individuals full of grit and determination,” made it clear she will not back down from a Second Amendment battle. The potential for a congressional confrontation on gun control is more likely now than it has been in recent memory, with perennial anti-gunner Joe Biden evidently heading to the White House and his gun-grabbing running mate Kamala Harris prepping to be president of the Senate.
“I expect to be on the front lines of any gun control fight,” Boebert said. “Our constitutional right to keep and bear arms exists even in places that reject that fundamental principle. And in Washington, D.C. I will always be a loud voice and strong advocate for all of our constitutional rights.”
She recalled driving three hours to an O’Rourke campaign event held in Aurora, with her Glock pistol on her belt, to “look him in the eye” and tell the former Texas congressman he was not taking anyone’s guns. It was a pivotal moment that may have ignited the political fire in her belly.
“I am not ashamed of standing for the Second Amendment,” she stated.
Boebert might be the female embodiment of the fictional Horatio Alger; a woman who decided to overcome the conditions of her youth ultimately becoming a symbol of the independence she represents.
“I am living the American dream,” Boebert said unabashedly, describing herself as a self-taught conservative. “I was raised in a Democrat household under failed Democrat policies. I started working at 15 years old and bringing mom home that first paycheck showed me that I can do a better job of taking care of myself than the government ever could.”
She left high school in her senior year, working at a local McDonalds where she was offered “a fantastic management position” where she would be making a very good wage. Boebert obtained a GED, and professed to enjoy learning, and says she excelled “in all of my classes.” But for her, there was “more value in the job.”
Ultimately, she founded the Shooters Grill in Rifle, a community on the Centennial State’s western slope along Interstate 70, several miles west of Glenwood Springs, which is famous as the final resting place of Dr. John Henry “Doc” Holliday, the famed gambler and pal of Wyatt Earp.
She openly carried a Glock pistol on the job because she often worked late and alone. She recalled how a man was fatally beaten outside the restaurant, which helped her reach the decision to be armed. Her staff began carrying, and the restaurant became nationally, and even internationally, famous.
While the gun rights issue may have brought her into the public spotlight, Boebert spent a year traveling across Colorado’s huge Third Congressional District, talking about the economy and jobs, energy and jobs, agriculture and jobs; the ability of those western Coloradoans to earn good livings and take care of themselves and their families rather than essentially becoming wards of the government.
She defeated the incumbent at the primary, and fended off a challenge from Democrat Diane Mitsch Bush in the general election, all the while making no secret she was also running as a counter to far-left Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her three colleagues known as “The Squad.” Boebert’s message evidently resonated from Craig to Cortez, and now she’s heading for Washington, D.C.
She made news recently for inquiring about carrying her pistol in the District, where she plans to be walking back and forth to work in a city with a homicide rate far higher than any community in her district.
With the Democrat House majority shrinking by several seats, they may not be able to press their full gun control agenda, but that may also depend upon the outcome of Georgia’s special election for the state’s two U.S. Senate seats, which occurs Jan. 5. Democrats and Republicans are both pouring fortunes into those races. If the GOP retains Senate control, that body will be the barrier to a presumptive Biden administration’s agenda. If Democrats capture both seats, all bets are off.
Looking at the foggy horizon, Congresswoman-elect Boebert is standing firm in her commitment to put her constituents first, and always work for their interests. But she will have limits, especially where their Constitutional rights are concerned.
“I’m always willing to work across the aisle,” Boebert said, “if it doesn’t grow government or cost the American people more money, and if the Democrats can’t agree on the Constitution of the United States of America, then I guess that’s where we draw the line. So, me having my constitutional right to keep and bear arms, if that prevents them from working with me for the good of the people, then maybe they need to reconsider being there at all.”