Living in Washington, D.C., I have been lucky enough to spend a lot of time at the Capitol with my children, starting from when they were very young. One of my sweet, feisty daughters has complex medical needs and multiple disabilities. She started visiting the Capitol with me when she was just 4 years old to advocate for access to the health care she will need for the rest of her life.
Because assaults on civil rights and the rights of disabled people have not stopped, we have not stopped our advocacy, either.
Every time I visit the Capitol, I am in awe of its big, beautiful dome stretching into the sky, symbolizing the strength and endurance of American democracy. I am equally awed by what normally appears to be one of the most efficient security operations in the world.
My family’s visits to the Capitol over the years have increased in frequency as Trump’s attacks on health care and civil rights have intensified. During every visit, my young daughter in a wheelchair is subjected to intense security searches. She is often required to get out of her wheelchair to be searched while her wheelchair is inspected thoroughly.
My toddler son was once driven to the point of a meltdown when a Capitol Police officer took his snack cup out of my bag for closer inspection because of its odd shape on the X-ray machine. My toddler’s snack was inspected by a Capitol Police officer for long enough that my son thought he would never get his snack back.
While attending press conferences in restricted areas in the Capitol as part of my advocacy work, I have had to provide my name in advance to be cleared to attend. I am required to go through security and provide ID to enter. Even then, I am required to have an escort until I reach my destination. I am required to wear a badge that lists the date and the specific room I have permission to be in. If I leave the immediate area of that room to use the bathroom or try to calm an anxious child, I will be stopped within seconds to ask where I am going. // Click on the link for the rest.
Many of my friends have similar stories. A friend’s 8-year-old daughter is Deaf. Her cochlear implants mean she cannot go through a metal detector. When she visits the Capitol, she often needs to wait more than 30 minutes to be let in until a female officer can be found to thoroughly pat her down while her mother holds her.
Another friend was escorted out of the Capitol with her baby son in his stroller for leaving a Post-it note on a senator’s door while Congress was out for recess. A member of Congress was offended that the note she left suggested that the Senate was not doing enough to curb gun violence and requested that the Capitol Police remove them from the building.
Security is so tight around the door leading to the Senate Chamber that when a friend who had clearance to be in that part of the building held up her phone to take a photo of herself and her infant son with their senator, Capitol Police immediately approached her and told her that she would have to leave if she did not put her phone away.