DC tragedy leads to increased state security.

In the wake of the tragic shooting of two security officers and a tourist at the U.S. Capitol in July, should state legislatures consider increasing security in their capitol buildings?

Yes, says former Indiana Senator Lonnie Randolph, who attempted such a move when he was in the legislature. Although a study panel decided that banning guns and adding metal detectors to the Indiana Capitol would make it less accessible, Randolph (now a judge) hopes Indiana lawmakers will consider similar legislation during the 1999 session.

In the meantime, state officials in Iowa, Pennsylvania and Washington have reassessed how they can best guard their state houses. In Massachusetts, state troopers have joined the park ranger unit that usually protects the historic State House. Armed officers accompanied by guard dogs began patrolling the California Capitol grounds after the Washington, D.C., shooting.

Capitol police must strike a delicate balance between accommodating public access to the capitols and other state facilities and protecting the officials and employees who work in these buildings.

Currently, 28 states are training legislative staff to recognize strange people or vehicles and to notice packages that are left unattended for too long. Thirty-one states use closed circuit television cameras to help security officers oversee the capitol and legislative buildings.

Missouri appropriated $1.4 million in 1996 for security improvement - including a police...