Do State Legislatures Need Protection?

They were discussing on air the need for security for local government officials. While not wanting to be overly vigilant and cost the nation millions in taxes, the debate was whether in this volatile politician climate are elected government officials safe in public? Local representative do town meetings in libraries, in parks and speaking engagements for clubs, business and other private entities. How safe are they?

It has been reported that Rep. Gabrielle Gifford from Tucson and her husband had had numerous conversations about her safety and the possibility of her being shot at some point. People tend to blame their disappointments, failure and inability to function on state and federal representatives. Some people contribute their loss of job, divorce, and hardships on government leaders and state officials are more accessible than federal.

The tax burden on the government for the President is great, but it is also accepted that that money is well spent and necessary. The U.S Capitol Police protect members of Congress from both the House and Senate and their families while in the country. It is on the State level of government that the debate on security centers. What are the risks for local government? While the shooting in Tucson is a horrible tragedy, it is still somewhat of an anomaly. A suggestion was to use military police to help protect local officials.

Military police are trained in military procedures and are already paid by the government. This government protection could be used as part of their training exercise. They could be used from local units for their specialized knowledge of the culture and climate for each state. This would not necessarily cost the taxpayers more money as they are already on government payrolls. Another suggestion debated was the use of, security guards.

Security guards are privately employed people paid to protect property, people or assets. They could be hired at taxpayer's expense as they are generally more economically than police force. Often security guards protect people using a high visibility presence. This could be used as a deterrent against would-be assassins. Security firms practice "detect, deter, observe and report" methodology. The Security guards number one job is to deter crime.

New York fire guard are somewhat like security guards but are required to have extensive, specialized training to secure buildings, events, business and persons.

If we expect people to continue to run for elected office we must, as a nation, do more to procure their security. A local government office should not be a death sentence. While the problem is still relatively small, in today's unstable world, it most likely will grow. One death is too many.