When the President addresses a joint session of Congress, do the members of Congress have to go through metal detectors and the like? I would presume they do, but I am not sure.
Thanks,
Rob
Seems like a good time to bump this.
Rob
This might offer a clue to those who wish to get inside the US Capitol building.
Actually, Senators and Representatives are exempt from having to go through security & metal detectors to enter the Capitol for normal business. I don’t know if that applies to the State of the Union speech, but considering it’s their building, and the President is a guest, I wouldn’t be surprised if they still demand that right/privilege.
There was an incident a few years ago where a US Rep, Cynthia McKinney, wasn’t recognized by the Capitol police and they grabbed her as she walked down the hall.
Don’t know about SOTU security measures, but I remember then-Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan complained that, when he attended the rededication of the Statue of Liberty in 1986, he and the Congressional delegation were kept from leaving the speaker’s platform for half an hour after President Reagan had left. From what I’ve heard, the Secret Service has lightened up since then when it comes to U.S. senators and representatives.
Somebody in Reagan’s Secret Service must have been to one too many performances of Julius Caesar at the Folger.
I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.
I’d guess they take a closer look at the congressman who invited Ted Nugent.
Especially since he has a little over two months left to meet his prediction of being dead or in jail.