Weapon detectors coming to Lansing State Capitol, recalling armed 2020 protest that scared lawmakers
LANSING, Mich. (FOX 2) - For the first time in history, people will be checked for weapons going into the State Capitol.
The new technology will be up and running soon and is meant to protect lawmakers and the many visitors including school children that tour the Capitol every year.
It goes back to state leaders in Lansing remembering April 30, 2020 when armed protestors demanded to get inside the Michigan House and officials feared for their lives.
But the State Capitol Commission is banning all weapons and taking steps to enforce that ban.
Over 100,000 school kids visit the capitol each year along with tourists and lawmakers, staffers, lobbyists and reporters are in the building all the time.
Years ago there was no need to keep weapons out, but that was then and this is now, as mass shootings are an even more common tragedy.
Starting next week, state-of-the-art technology will be installed to check every person who walks through the Capitol entrances.
Unlike the exceedingly long lines citizens face at airports. Walk-through machines will prevent that at the Capitol.
Armed protesters gather at the Michigan Capitol Building in Lansing, Michigan, U.S., on Thursday, April 30, 2020. Protesters demanded that the state legislature not extend Governor Gretchen Whitmer's coronavirus stay-at-home order, ABC News reported.
That's what the new technology is like, it can detect weapons on a body," said John Truscott, ex-vice chair Capitol Commission. "And you walk through, you don't have to stop, you don't have to check your equipment. It is technology used at Disney World and a lot of other places."
The Michigan State Police and sergeant at arms will be there, should the buzzers go off.
The state will lease the equipment for about $170,000 a year but Mr. Truscott reports it will cost more than that.
"We had scoped it out and given staffing, equipment, maintenance of the equipment that we were probably looking at $5 million," Truscott said.
In fact, the governor and lawmakers allocated the $5 million in next year's budget.
As they came to the conclusion that its well worth it to make sure this never happens again and to make sure no gun violence occurs under the dome.
An armed protester wearing a mask stands at the Michigan Capitol Building in Lansing, Michigan, U.S., on Thursday, April 30, 2020. Protesters demanded that the state legislature not extend Governor Gretchen Whitmer's coronavirus stay-at-home order, A