MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WHNT) — Nearly one week after two Minnesota lawmakers were shot, there are concerns about the safety of state leaders in Alabama.
Lawmakers told me they will be more vigilant while using their voices in both chambers.
Rep. Kenyatte Hassell (D-Montgomery) recalled the time he received a death threat over a bill he sponsored.
“Just like the person told me. You know, ‘I shouldn’t be here.’ And ‘he’ll take me out because of gun legislation,’” Hassell said.
Alabama House Clerk John Treadwell said they’ve removed personal addresses from their website. They are also working with the Secretary of State’s office, as well as the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, to ensure addresses of policymakers aren’t public.
Now, Hassell said he uses a P.O. box.
“We might have to do some legislation to protect lawmakers. When we see this happen, we don’t want this happening to anybody. Regardless of what party you’re in,” said Hassell.
State Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) agreed. He said safety is an ongoing concern, especially when taking a stand on controversial topics. Orr said being able to reach constituents is important, but there are many ways to do it.
“You can do Zoom calls with constituents, you can meet, obviously, via phone call,” he said. “There’s multiple ways to meet, where you don’t have to meet face to face like maybe they did a hundred years ago.”
Former law enforcement officer and Rep. Ron Bolton (R-Northport) said he always conducts his business in public.
“You know, you have to just be on constant guard for unusual behavior and things like that,” he said. “I don’t see the need for a lot of knee-jerk reactions out in the field of more security, and stuff like that.”
Orr said the violence will deter people from running for office.
“We certainly don’t want that. We need to have, certainly, full political debate, conversation, etcetera. But the violence- there’s no place for that,” Orr said.
In a message to his colleagues, Senate Pro Tempore Garlan Gudger (R-Cullman) said, “Each one of us has been called to serve, but that is never at the expense of our safety or the safety of our families.”
Gudger encouraged Senators to get law enforcement involved if they ever felt unsafe.
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