US state warehouses are divided into party lines, whether firearms should be allowed in capitol buildings – more than a year later that have seen armed rebels occupying US capitals and protesters holding government seats across the country.
Guns are currently permitted in 21 US state capitol buildings, with eight states allowing concealed firearms and two open carry.
At least 11 states do not have metal detectors at the entrances of their state warehouses.
As recently as Thursday, lawmakers in Montana approved a new bill that overturns a decade-long ban on weapons inside the Helena Statehouse.
Anyone allowed to carry a gun was sacked this year by Republicans who took control of all branches of government.
Likewise, the GOP-led Utah legislature approved a measure earlier this month that would allow guns to be carried in and out of the Salt Lake City Capitol Building without permission.
But at the same time, other states are moving to prohibit firearms inside their government halls.
A Michigan panel banned open confinement of guns after the Washington riots, and threatened a second armed seizure of the Lansing Capital.
However, state Sen. Dayna Polhanki said she does not think the new ban has gone too far and is disappointed that concealed weapons are still allowed.
“The bullets are bullets,” said Polhanki, a Democrat legislator on January 11.
“There is no reason to have a gun in the Capitol.”
He said, “Weapons, guns, bullets are welcome in our state capitol until we can see them. It does not make anyone safe.”
In Vermont, lawmakers are considering extending the state’s ban on guns to other Montpelier government buildings, while a measure in Olympia that would ban guns in the Washington State Capitol has gained initial approval.
“The purpose of openly carrying a weapon is to cool the voice of other people. And it works, ”said its sponsor, Washington state fighter Patty Kuderer, a Democrat.
Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers in Oklahoma City, who are insisting on allowing unlicensed firearms in the state Capitol, are being lobbied by gun-rights advocates.
“A person does not need to be able to defend themselves, no matter where they are,” said Don Spencer, president of the Oklahoma Second Amendment Association.
In Montana, Republican-majority lawmakers were not punctuated by armed protesters in nearby Oregon and Idaho, who were forced to go to state warehouses to prevent the epidemic.
“People who have permits are very legal, and they are the kind of people I want. I see him as a deterrent to evil deeds, ”said Republican State Representative Seth Burgall.
However, Thursday’s measure was opposed by the state’s Democratic minority.
House Minority Leader Kim Abbott said, “If you have more guns in the building then you’re talking about things that are so personal and intense. You worry about things.”
With post wires
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