A10 The BulleTin • Sunday, June 20, 2021
POST-INSURRECTION MEASURES
States balance capitol security, openness
BY ELAINE S. POVICH
Stateline.org
Earlier this month, the Or-
egon Legislature expelled one
of its members for knowingly
shepherding rioters into the
Capitol in Salem in December.
The same day as that expul-
sion, a study by the Western
States Center think tank cau-
tioned that dissatisfaction with
democracy — and the tacit ac-
commodation of hate groups
— could lead to further attacks
at state capitols, including in
Oregon.
At the same time, state of-
ficials around the country are
moving to tear down security
fences and cautiously open up
capitol buildings to the public,
as COVID-19 fades regionally
and the nation has outwardly
calmed with former President
Donald Trump out of office
and off social media.
Balancing openness and
security has become excruci-
atingly complicated for state
capitol officers, officials and
lawmakers, a Stateline review
found. And some observers say
leaders would be wise to heed
the simmering unrest just be-
low the surface as the far-right
groups who stormed the U.S.
Capitol on Jan. 6 continue to
simmer over what they falsely
think was a stolen presidential
election.
The January 2021 Ameri-
can Perspectives Survey by the
American Enterprise Institute,
a right-of-center think tank,
found that Americans are di-
vided over the legitimacy of
Democrat Joe Biden’s win in
the 2020 presidential election.
In addition, a significant num-
ber of Americans condone the
use of violence in the face of
what they see as political fail-
ures. The survey found that
nearly 3 in 10 Americans, in-
cluding 39% of Republicans,
agreed that “if elected leaders
will not protect America, the
people must do it themselves,
even if it requires violent ac-
tions.”
That result was “a really dra-
matic finding,” Daniel Cox,
director of the AEI Survey
Center on American Life, told
NPR. “I think any time you
have a significant number of
the public saying use of force
can be justified in our political
system, that’s pretty scary.”
About 8 in 10 Republican
respondents said the political
system is “stacked against con-
servatives and people with tra-
ditional values.” Most of them
agreed with the statement:
“The traditional American way
of life is disappearing so fast
that we may have to use force
to save it.”
Brian Levin, director of the
Center for the Study of Hate &
Extremism at California State
University, San Bernardino,
suggested it’s not just officials
at state capitols who need to
reassess their security — lo-
cal and county government
buildings are vulnerable, too,
he said.
“We’re seeing contentious
standing room only meetings
at the county level as well,” he
said in an interview.
He suggested officials main-
tain some kind of perime-
ter protection around public
buildings, with limited entry
and exit points.
“That can be done in a way
so it doesn’t look like a for-
tress,” he said. “Spacing, video
surveillance and making sure
people aren’t armed.”
Difficult thing to balance’
But tamping down potential
violence from White suprema-
cists, who figured prominently
in the Jan. 6 riot, will take more
than physical barriers, said
Lindsay Schubiner, program
director for the Western States
Center, a Portland-based pro-
gressive think tank. “It’s a diffi-
cult thing to balance,” she said,
in response to a question from
Stateline during a webinar last
week. Lawmakers can help by
“speaking out clearly whenever
this type of bigotry arises.”
Oregon
State Po-
lice and
Salem Po-
lice guard
the Oregon
State Cap-
itol build-
ing during
dueling
Black Lives
Matter and
“Stop the
Steal” pro-
tests Nov. 7
in Salem.
Nathan How-
ard/Getty Im-
ages via TNS
A survey by polling firm
DHM Research for the West-
ern States Center suggests that
Oregonians are growing less
inclined toward racial diversity,
with more people hewing to
the idea that white European
heritage must be preserved and
fewer people than two years
ago agreeing that America
must preserve its multicultural
heritage.
In 2019, 92% of those 18 and
older surveyed said “America
must protect and preserve its
multicultural heritage” com-
pared with 86% in 2021. The
percentage of respondents who
said “America must protect
and preserve its White Euro-
pean heritage” rose from 31%
in 2019 to 40% this year. The
poll surveyed Oregonians in
January; there was a margin of
error of plus or minus 4 per-
centage points.
At the Oregon Capitol in
Salem, some enhanced secu-
rity measures that went up in
January are down, but a great
deal of fencing remains, most
of it due to renovations. Other
measures are in place, some
not visible to the public.
Capt. Tim Fox, public in-
formation officer for the Or-
egon State Police, which han-
dles Capitol security, said in
an email he could not discuss
safety procedures “for security
reasons.”
But Brett Hanes, interim leg-
islative administrator for the
building, said in an email that
it remains closed to the public
due to COVID-19 precautions
until 70% of Oregon adults
have received at least one vac-
cination dose.
In January, windows on the
first floor of the building were
boarded up for increased se-
curity but those barriers were
removed a few months ago, he
said. But the building is under-
going a renovation to increase
both accessibility and security,
and enhance earthquake pro-
tections, he added.
Other state capitol
buildings are opening, too
In St. Paul, Minnesota, the
extra fencing put up a year ago
is coming down this month,
bit by bit.
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan,
who chairs the state Capitol
Area Architectural and Plan-
ning (CAAP) Board, said in a
statement that she is “eager to
open the doors to the Capitol
so that Minnesotans can safely
return to the People’s House
and advocate for our shared fu-
ture,” according to the Minne-
apolis Star Tribune.
In Olympia, Washington,
the security fencing around
buildings in the state Capitol
complex was removed in May.
There are, however, other se-
curity measures in place, none
of which are necessarily public
knowledge. But the Northwest
News Network reported that
the state’s new budget allocates
nearly $5 million for more state
troopers and extra money for
improved gates and bollards
as well as better cameras and
lighting.
In Virginia, the few visible
security measures that were
put up around the Capitol in
Richmond have been removed,
according to Joe Macenka,
public information officer for
the Virginia Division of Capi-
tol Police. The building, which
has been closed since the start
of the pandemic last year, is
scheduled to reopen July 1, he
wrote in an email.
“Because these changing
times demand flexibility,” he
said, “the division constantly
studies methods used in other
states to see what works best
and what areas can be im-
proved.”
Temporary fencing still sur-
rounds several major build-
ing projects, including a new
General Assembly building,
he said.
The Jan. 6 insurrection in
Washington, D.C., the breach
in Oregon that led to the ex-
pulsion of Rep. Mike Near-
man, a Republican, and other
security incidents around the
country prompted some states
to reassess their policy about
carrying guns into capitols and
throughout state complexes.
In Oregon, Capitol rules al-
low for open and concealed
carrying of guns if the carrier
has the proper license, said
Haynes, the Oregon adminis-
trator. But that won’t last long.
Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat
signed a bill June 1 to prohibit
firearms in the Capitol and set
rules for gun storage in homes.
It goes into effect 90 days after
the Legislature adjourns, slated
for June 28.
Overall, gun policies in state
capitols, even after the Janu-
ary riot in Washington, remain
split. About 30 state capitols
employ metal detectors, ac-
cording to the National Con-
ference of State Legislatures.
Conversely, according to the
Crime Prevention Research
Center, a pro-gun research
group, about 23 capitols offi-
cially allow carrying legal fire-
arms inside.
In January, the Michigan
Capitol, which had allowed
guns, modified its regulations,
according to Lt. Brian Oleksyk
of the Michigan State Police. In
an email, Oleksyk said openly
carrying firearms in the Cap-
itol building is prohibited,
though they can still be carried
on the Capitol grounds. Those
with a concealed carry permit
can carry guns inside the Cap-
itol but must follow the rules
for concealing weapons.
Oleksyk said the police will
enforce the new gun rules; a
violation and refusal to leave
can bring a civil infraction for
trespassing.