Concealed weapons will be allowed in the state Assembly’s public galleries, but not the Assembly floor, under a policy adopted Thursday.
The decision polarized members of the Assembly Committee on Organization, with Democrats decrying a policy that allows concealed weapons in the same public viewing space where cameras and signs are forbidden.
Capitol Police arrested over a dozen protesters in the last two days alone for bringing video recorders, cameras and signage into the Assembly gallery.
Democrats’ concerns about weapons on the Assembly floor, the space where representatives debate, prompted the committee’s Republican majority to restrict the concealed weapon policy to gallery space.
The policy adopted by the Assembly contrasts with the state Senate’s rules, which allow concealed weapons on the Senate floor, but not in public galleries.
Gov. Scott Walker’s administration set the overall Capitol policy that allows concealed weapons inside the building, but bans them in the Supreme Court chamber and basement police office.
