Lauren Boebert Dismayed Americans Only Own 46 Percent of World's Firearms
Colorado Representative Lauren Boebert expressed concern on the House floor Wednesday
over reports that Americans own 46 percent of the world's civilian firearms, saying "we need to get our numbers up."
Boebert, a Republican known for her
staunch pro-gun stance, made the comment while
condemning a new mandate by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) that went into effect Tuesday,
requiring gun owners to register any firearms that use "stabilizing braces."
In her
speech during a special order period on the House floor,
Boebert accused the ATF of violating the separation of powers, saying the new rule "functions like a law that
Congress never had."
"ATF. Alcohol, tobacco and firearms," the congresswoman continued. "In western Colorado, we call that a fun weekend. But D.C. bureaucrats have used this agency to infringe on the rights of the American people."
Boebert ended her critique of ATF's latest regulation by reiterating her belief that the
"Second Amendment is absolute," and
claimed that "gun-free zones are the most dangerous places in our country."
"A recent report states that Americans own 46 percent of the world's guns," Boebert added. "I think we need to get our numbers up, boys and girls."
A study conducted by the Small Arms Survey in 2017 found that American citizens owned nearly 46 percent of the world's 857 million firearms held by civilians. The same study also concluded that
for every 100 residents, there were about 120.5 firearms in the U.S.
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, Americans account for roughly 4 percent of the world's population.
The new ATF rule, titled "
Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached 'Stabilizing Braces,'" clarifies when a rifle is "designed, made and intended to be fired from the shoulder." If a rifle falls under this category, it changes the outlines that gunowners must follow to carry such a firearm.
Under the new criteria, any weapon with a "stabilizing brace" or similar attachment and constitutes as a rifle under the new law must be registered within 120 days of the regulation's enactment.