Rules committee endorses Senate president’s gallery-security letter, approves resolution 6–4

The Rules and Administration Committee voted to endorse Senate President Champion’s Jan. 26, 2026 letter outlining security protocols for the Senate gallery, including the use of security scanners and a prohibition on firearms and other dangerous weapons in the gallery on days the Senate is in session.

Senator Champion told the committee his letter, sent Jan. 26, "outlines the authority" and urged support to improve safety in the gallery after recent incidents. Champion said the ban would be active only on session days and stressed the intent was to “strike the balance of protecting all of us, including our staff, and also, acknowledging respect, for the constitution for the second amendment.”

Debate centered on whether the committee’s endorsement created statutory or constitutional vulnerability and on practical impacts for visitors and permit-holders. Leader Johnson argued that the resolution would not prevent other non-firearm incidents that the chamber has experienced but said it could raise legal challenges tied to statutory carry rights. Counsel Stangel noted there is legal precedent allowing government bans in "sensitive places" such as legislative assemblies, and she said she had discussed those precedents with the Attorney General's office.

Senator Limmer and other members pressed whether permit-holders and lobbyists had been consulted; Champion said he had spoken with individual permit-holders and lobbyists and presented their views as generally supportive of the balance struck in the letter. Senator Miller asked about the ability of permit-holders to observe proceedings; committee counsel and Champion said permit-holders could still enter the Capitol and view proceedings on monitors outside the gallery but could not enter the gallery with a firearm.

Senator Rest moved to adopt the committee resolution endorsing President Champion’s letter and requested a roll-call vote. The clerk read members’ votes aloud and the chair announced the motion passed "by a vote of 6 to 4." The transcript records named votes for several members, and the committee chair declared the resolution adopted.

The committee directed staff and security leaders to continue work on operational details including staffing the screening points, how to handle garage and disability access, and privacy or discreet procedures for permit verification.

The committee adjourned after the vote.