GOP Rep. Wants to Enclose Congress in Plexiglas

[sabra]

Source: CBS News

An aide to Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) tells CBS News that the Indiana Republican plans to introduce legislation next week that would encase the House Gallery in "a transparent and substantial material" such as Plexiglas that would keep members of the public from being able to throw explosives or make other attacks on members on the House floor.

Burton has introduced similar legislation in the past. It reads in part, "The Architect of the Capitol shall enclose the visitors' galleries of the House of Representatives with a transparent and substantial material, and shall install equipment so that the proceedings on the floor of the House of Representatives will be clearly audible in the galleries."

A past version of the legislation, which will be reintroduced in the wake of the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords on Saturday, references past attacks on Congress. Among them are a 1915 bombing by a man protesting U.S. involvement in World War 1, the shooting of five members of Congress by Puerto Rican nationalists during a House vote in 1954, and a the placing of a bomb by the Weather Underground in a Senate bathroom in 1971. (The bomb went off early and no one was hurt.)

...

Burton is not the only lawmakers pressing for extra security precautions in the wake of the Giffords shooting. Democratic Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. of Illinois announced today that he is pushing to have members' office budgets increased to cover additional security measures. The new GOP House cut members' budgets by five percent last week. Jackson says that cut should be reversed and another ten percent should be added to budgets to cover installing cameras at district offices, hiring security guards and other measures.

"After the events of last weekend it is clear that our district staffs are vulnerable," Jackson said in a statement. "Members should have the resources and the latitude to take the appropriate security measures in order to protect themselves and their staffs."

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20028139-503544.html?tag=stack

[begin_within]

1. How about this for the Republican side:

[onehandle]

3. LOL! nt

[TBF]

5. +1 nt

[Judi Lynn]

12. Absolutely! n/t

[forty6]

29. A SUPERB idea! And maybe have the Republican side meet at the nearest

mental hospital to the right side of the Capitol.

Oh wait, that would be on K street!

[Luciferous]

30. lol

[TwilightGardener]

2. Wow, all these new measures to protect themselves from us. What new measures

are they going to introduce to protect nine year old girls and the elderly in supermarkets?

[True_Blue]

23. Excellent question, but I think we already know what the answer is. n/t

[Democrats_win]

4. Republicans don't need to meet with the real people--only corporations.

This is really bad for Democrats because meeting the public, as Giffords does, is very important for our Representatives. We have a Representative here in CO that meets with the people in his mixed red/blue district. Republicans only have to go to Fraud Street to see the people they represent.

[Joanne98]

6. LOL

[mbperrin]

7. Seems to me Burton is proposing interfering with Americans'

2nd Amendment rights. No use packin' if you can't shoot at somethin', is there?

NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!NANNY STATE!

[Judi Lynn]

13. He's afeerd once their loonies run out of Democrats they'll come after them. n/t

[mbperrin]

19. I can only hope.

Kiddin'!







Maybe.

[Jed28]

8. Another GOP Rep.

"Rep. Peter King, a Republican from New York, is planning to introduce legislation that would make it illegal to bring a gun within 1,000 feet of a government official, according to a person familiar with the congressman's intentions."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/11/peter-king-strict-gun-control_n_807323.html


But, would he support legislation that would restrict the sales of automatic weapons to the general public?

[elleng]

9. Misleading headline, not enclosing CONGRESS,

but the Gallery, that is, observers, the public. OK with me, but suggest clarify headline.

Thanks

[bdamomma]

10. if they are so concerned why didn't they vote to extend the

small arms bill instead of letting it expire?? of course giving their NRA buddies some more money.

[bongbong]

11. Relax!

Relax Dan. Only Democrats and Liberals get targeted.

He must be so stupid that he must actually believes the incessant False Equivalency lie from the MSM.

[DCKit]

14. I wonder if they'll think of drilling a few air holes in the plexiglass..... nt

[Jed28]

16. Why would they want to make the enviroment

more comfortable for those that elect to witness democracy in action? :-)

[yellowcanine]

15. And while we are at it let's ban the use of watermelons for target practice.

You know who you are, Mr. Burton.

http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/03/31/bill.press/index.html

[FailureToCommunicate]

17. Ha! Has Rep Burton never even gone to the Gallery since 9/11? You can't

even get close without having EVERYTHING inspected or removed from your person. What a joke he is...UNLESS he's trying to continue momentum for the 'We're ALL at risk - Dems and GOPers - from crazed hippie (i.e. leftie) would be assassins' meme we're hearing from the talk shows.

[AnneD]

18. Since they are doing such a peachy keen job....

at the airports, have homeland security and TSA handle the secutiry at the Capitol.:eyes: :evilgrin:

Is it wrong that I should get pleasure from knowing that some of the RW congress members will be man handled. A boner for Bohner I say.

[salin]

20. shooting a watermelon as part of a congressoinal hearing wasn't enough... now

he wants to turn the House into "The Boy(s and girls) in the Bubble."

[prolesunited]

21. I'm waiting for them to all get their own

"popemobiles."

[True_Blue]

25. LOL!

I've never seen the popemobile before. That has to be the most ridiculous vehicle I've ever seen. :rofl:

[jmowreader]

26. Let us remember what the late great Sam Kinison said about the Popemobile

"We know God protects the Holy Father…but just in case…"

[Starbucks Anarchist]

22. The same guy who tried to "reenact" Vince Foster's death with a watermelon?

:rofl:

[rayofreason]

24. Is the "The Onion?" n/t

[kas125]

27. He's an idiot and plexiglass won't do anything to make him

safer than he is now. Sheesh, you get searched before you enter the building, then to enter the gallery you get searched again. They don't let you take anything in, purses, bags, etc. have to be locked in a drawer by the person manning the door before they let you in, too. Burton is being ridiculous, as usual, and although he's not my representative, I have emailed to tell him that he makes me ashamed to say that I live in Indiana because he publicly speaks for some of us.

[alp227]

28. well how are you gonna pay for it sir?

Anyone wanna bet that Congress will hire those dagnabbit illegal aliens to do the work for super cheap so that the Republicans don't run up the deficit? This is yet more panicky kneejerk legislation introduced in Congress as a way to vent after the shooting. Earlier, Rep. Bob Brady (D-PA) introduced laws against hate speech like Sarah Palin's "lock and load" and crosshair maps.