Wisconsin Republican leader says he doesn’t want to ‘fortify’ the state Capitol

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The highest-ranking Republican in the Wisconsin Assembly said Thursday that he doesn’t want to “fortify” the state Capitol, which is one of the country’s most accessible statehouses, but that lawmakers are looking at ways to bolster safety in other areas such as at officeholders’ homes.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos’ comments came a day after the killing of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk on a college campus in Utah and three months after the targeted shootings of two Minnesota state lawmakers. Vos was asked about security before the Wisconsin Assembly met to vote on a series of bills.

Vos said he doesn’t want to “fortify a single building to make people feel safer when the reality is that most of the violence that has occurred has not been inside a government building.”

Legislatures in most states have finished meeting for the year, but those like Wisconsin’s that were still in session in June did take steps to bolster security immediately after the Minnesota attacks, which happened at the lawmakers’ homes. Numerous states took action to protect lawmakers’ personal information.

The Wisconsin Capitol has its own police force housed in the basement, but the building is not protected by metal detectors, screening checkpoints or X-rays. Anyone can walk in off the street between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. during the week and go straight to the offices of state lawmakers and others.

Wisconsin’s is one of 11 state capitols that don’t have metal detectors, a state audit found last year. It is one of 19 without X-ray machines to scan items people bring into the building.

After the Minnesota killings in June, Republican state Sen. Chris Kapenga said he supports adding metal detectors at the Capitol and banning guns for anyone in the building except for lawmakers.

Wisconsin is one of seven states where concealed weapons are allowed in the Capitol, according to a 2021 report by the Council of State Governments. Thirty-six states ban concealed weapons in their capitol buildings.

Three police officers were stationed outside of the entrance to the state Assembly on Thursday. There were no signs of additional security inside the chamber where lawmakers were meeting. The galleries were open and members of the public were seated there observing Thursday’s debate.

Although Vos opposes increasing security at the Capitol, he said he is looking at ways lawmakers can bolster security at their homes or places “where they might be vulnerable.”

Democratic leaders said they are also looking at ways to bolster security.

“This is top of mind for many of our colleagues and, of course, the staff who work in the Capitol as well, the press, the guests, the children that come through this building on Capitol visits,” said Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer. “So it’s an ongoing conversation.”