Pete King wants to keep guns at least 1,000 feet from federal officials. Bill would ban guns near lawmakers

Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), one of the few pro-gun control Republicans in the House, wants to make it illegal for someone to knowingly carry a gun within 1,000 feet of certain high-ranking federal officials, including members of Congress.

In addition to giving him and his colleagues protection, King told POLITICO that his purpose is also to protect constituents who want to meet with public officials and might be hesitant to do so in wake of the shootings in Arizona.


“It would give law enforcement the weapon they need to protect federal officials, and just as importantly, it would provide a large measure of security for those who want to meet with their federal elected officials,” said King, who is chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.

It’s unclear whether King’s legislation will see the light of day in the Republican-controlled House. But four days after a gunman killed six people and critically wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Ariz., King is among a handful of gun control advocates still trying to spark a discussion in Congress on limiting access to firearms.

King is the first Republican to announce any kind of gun control legislation in the wake of the shooting. He joins fellow New York Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, a Democrat, who is seeking to restrict sales of high-capacity ammunition clips like the one Loughner allegedly used in his attack.

King also said that he could be supportive of McCarthy’s legislation, as he was supportive of the 1994 assault weapon ban that prohibited the manufacturing of the high-capacity ammunition clips.

Under federal law, it’s illegal to bring a gun within 1,000 feet of a school. King wants to apply that same standard to federal officials, including the president, vice president, members of Congress and federal judges.

King joined New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and several local officials Tuesday morning to call for “common-sense” solutions to “keep guns out of the hand of criminals, the mentally ill and other dangerous persons.”

“Just as we saw after Virginia Tech, the Arizona tragedy has once again exposed fatal cracks in our background check system,” said Bloomberg in a statement. “The law says that drug abusers can’t buy guns, but even though Jared Loughner was rejected by the military for drug use and arrested on drug charges, he was able to pass a background check and buy a gun.”

In addition to King’s legislation, Bloomberg’s coalition, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, also recommended several other fixes to aide gun control, including revamping the federal background check database for firearms sales to include records of those with a history of drug abuse.