Visitors to the state Capitol in Juneau will have to go through a metal detector under a new policy adopted last month.
The visitor screening policy was approved in a 9-4 vote by the Legislative Council, a committee comprised of members from both the House and Senate that sets the rules for the Capitol complex.
Lawmakers did not publicly discuss or debate the policy change. Before the vote, they met in a session closed to the public for more than an hour and a half for a security briefing and to discuss the policy proposal.
The screening is expected to start on Monday, April 21.
Senate President Gary Stevens, the council’s vice chair, supported the change. He described his reasoning in a Senate majority caucus news conference on April 1.
“The idea, really, is … to make sure people aren’t entering with weapons — with guns, with knives and that sort of thing,” he said. “You know, some folks have said, ‘Well, let’s wait until there’s an incident, where someone gets hurt, and then we will install it.’ I think that’s not wise at all.”
He continued, “You have them (at) every airport you enter into, so it’s not as if people are unaware of how they work.”
Legislators, their family and legislative staff with key fobs to the building will be allowed to bypass the screening.
Stevens said people who work in the Capitol have told him several times recently of their concern or fear regarding visitors who don’t have a reason to be in the building.
Juneau Rep. Sara Hannan, the council chair, voted for the new security measures. She wrote in a newsletter to constituents that no legislators were happy to make the change, but waiting for a tragedy to occur was unacceptable.
“Legislative Council did not arrive at this decision lightly. For decades, we in Alaska have taken pride in the citizenry’s open access to the Legislature,” Hannon wrote. “However, and very unfortunately, in recent years our country has changed in ways that have led to increased risk of violence in our public institutions.”
Big Lake Rep. Kevin McCabe opposed the change. He is not currently on the council but served as its vice chair last year and said the idea has been under discussion for at least four years.
“I just feel we should leave it open. We have a really able security team and, frankly, Alaskans are just not that militant that they would storm the Capitol or come into the Capitol and create an issue,” he said.
The new policy requires that all visitors be screened by a walk-through magnetometer. However, visitors may opt out of the walk-through metal detector, choosing a handheld magnetometer or a physical pat-down by a legislative security officer or contracted security personnel.
All items carried into the Capitol will be screened by an X-ray device.
The council voted to award a contract to a private contractor for the screening services this year.
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