Colorado Republican Representative Lauren Boebert was harshly criticized after she attempted to use the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 to argue against gun control in the wake of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
Boebert, speaking after a gunman murdered 19 children and two teachers, said gun control won't limit mass shootings because “when 9/11 happened, we didn’t ban planes.”
Boebert insisted she wants "our schools secured," to see "our children protected," and for there to be "teachers that can protect themselves and their students," adding all of this can be achieved "without trying to disarm law-abiding citizens.”
You can hear what Boebert said in the video below.
\u201cBoebert: When 9/11 happened, we didn\u2019t ban planes\u201d— Acyn (@Acyn) 1653615024
Boebert is incorrect to suggest that there was no regulation after the September 11 attacks. For starters, flights across the United States were immediately grounded and the skies were empty for days.
After the attacks, then-President George W. Bush, a Republican, signed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, which created the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The law required that all checked baggage be screened, that cockpit doors be reinforced, and that more federal air marshals be on flights.
The TSA has run into numerous controversies since, with some of its mandates being referred to as "security theater," such as the full-body scanners the agency eventually scrapped amid considerable outcry from passengers who said the devices, which produced realistic looking images, amounted to a "virtual strip search."
All in all, the years after the attacks have seen more security and less privacy when traveling by air.
Boebert was swiftly criticized for her remarks, with many pointing out that the United States moved quickly to regulate the skies in the wake of the most devastating act of terror on American soil.
\u201cAll flights were grounded nationally immediately and for three days following. The air pollution measurably decreased. Many people noticed how unnerving it was to see and hear no planes or trails in the sky for days. I was 12. She was 14. There's no way she doesn't remember\u201d— Zinnia Jones (@Zinnia Jones) 1653679534
\u201cRight. We just heavily regulated them. \n\nFor instance, we made a list of people who were banned from flying on planes bc they were too dangerous, and applied it universally, regardless of whether you bought your plane ticket in person or on line.\u201d— Chris Murphy (@Chris Murphy) 1653688817
\u201cSomebody should tell Lauren Boebert that her strengths definitely do not lie in Congress \ud83d\ude44\u201d— AnneCresswell Cresswell (@AnneCresswell Cresswell) 1653812875
\u201cEver hear of a no-fly list?\u201d— David Corn (@David Corn) 1653679450
\u201c- We grounded the 737 Max after 2 crashes\n- we made significant security changed after 9/11\u201d— Stephanie Ruhle (@Stephanie Ruhle) 1653678438
\u201cMaybe because the primary purpose of airplanes isn't to kill people? \ud83d\ude44\n\nI'm guessing Bobo didn't ace the analogies portion of the SAT\u201d— Asha Rangappa (@Asha Rangappa) 1653669675
\u201cUm. We did. The skies were empty for days.\u201d— Joe Rohde (@Joe Rohde) 1653670209
\u201cWe didn\u2019t ban planes, but we did significantly increase screening processes for people who want to board a flight.\u201d— Frank Luntz (@Frank Luntz) 1653678203
Boebert has long stood against gun control.
Last year, after Kentucky Republican Representative Thomas Massie was criticized for tweeting a family photo in which he and six family members each brandished a military-style weapon in front of a Christmas tree, Boebert responded to Massie's photo with a picture of her four equally armed children.
"The Boeberts have your six," Boebert tweeted to Massie, using a military saying that means, "I've got your back" even though neither politician has military experience.
Boebert was criticized in September after a TikTok video emerged showing her 8-year-old son playing alone next to her rifle.
The since-deleted video showed Boebert's son playing with cigarette lighters while left alone in a bedroom. Mere feet away was one of the Congresswoman's rifles, propped up against a bedframe.
The images were reviewed by Salon, which noted that the bedroom appears to be the same one Boebert used during her February Zoom video call with the House Natural Resources Committee.
During that call, Boebert showed viewers that the room has a bookshelf displaying several high-capacity rifles.
Boebert has previously claimed to be a "responsible gun owner."
She and her husband own Shooters Grill, a restaurant in Rifle, Colorado, where staff members are encouraged to openly carry firearms.
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