General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: In 1996, I visited Washington DC. I walked up the East Steps of the Capitol and into the Rotunda... [View all]CBHagman
(16,984 posts)Two officers were killed.
[url]http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/shooting/archives2.htm[/url]
A guard was shot to death at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum as well.
Security is tighter in government buildings in D.C. nowadays, but it has been since 9/11. I consider it routine to queue up to enter a congressional office building or the Library of Congress, and I actually found the latter, plus the U.S. Capitol, the strictest but not unreasonable in terms of what I was allowed to bring in. The same goes for museums. People bend the rules all the time (I've seen people photographing rare documents and paintings within seconds of getting the instructions from a guard or notice), but for the most part the rules are there for a reason.