Senator Corey Booker's prolonged filibuster was a lot of things, including a repudiation of the left's insistence that the legislative tool is just an artifact of Jim Crow that has no role in the modern Congress. Some are celebrating it as righteous. Others are deriding it as nothing but a stunt to kick off a presidential campaign.
But in and amongst much of the coverage of Booker and his filibuster, a lot of people are missing the hypocrisy that happened elsewhere in the Capitol involving the senator.
See, Booker is a vocal supporter of gun control. He has routinely supported every anti-gun bit of legislation that he can possibly support. He's spoken against the right to keep and bear arms repeatedly.
In other words, he's not a gun person and thinks there should be plenty of restrictions on carrying a firearm.
Unless, it seems, that it's his buddy doing it:
Capitol Police arrested a staffer for Sen. Cory Booker who was carrying a gun Monday evening, as the New Jersey Democrat kicked off a marathon “filibuster” in the upper chamber.
“Yesterday afternoon a Member of Congress led an IDed staff member around security screening at the Hart Senate Office Building. Later that evening, outside the Senate Galleries, the IDed staff member — who is a retired law enforcement officer — told our officers he was armed,” a rep for US Capitol Police said in a statement Tuesday.
“The staff member, 59-year-old Kevin A. Batts of New Jersey, was arrested for Carrying a Pistol Without a License. All weapons are prohibited from Capitol Grounds, even if you are a retired law enforcement officer, or have a permit to carry in another state or the District of Columbia.”
Jeff Giertz, a spokesperson for Booker, responded in a statement: “Senator Booker’s office employs a retired Newark police detective as a New Jersey-based driver who often accompanies him to events. We are working to better understand the circumstances around this.”
Let's understand that Booker escorted Batts around security. That suggests he was aware that Batts was carrying a firearm. He also had to know that Batts wasn't allowed to carry one lawfully.
Remember when Democrats lost their mind at the thought of Rep. Lauren Boebert carrying a firearm in the Capitol? Yeah, me too. That means it's really unlikely that Booker or Batts was unaware of the prohibition.
Booker simply didn't seem to care because rules are for other people.
See, I honestly don't like the idea of gun-free zones. I don't think they should, generally, be a thing. If you don't want guns in your business, that's one thing, but in public spaces? I'm not a fan.
Booker doesn't feel that way, though. He likes gun-free zones and generally seems to want more of them.
Unless, of course, it's one of his people who is carrying the gun. Then the rules only apply to the little people.
See, while Booker talked and talked for hours and is being celebrated by many for it, the fact that his outright hypocrisy on guns, gun control, and gun rights was also evident is going to be missed by millions of Americans. That's a shame, too, because that's the bigger story.
