Many Lawmakers Share Their Home Addresses. Political Violence Is Changing That.
When an assassin visited the homes of two Minnesota lawmakers on Saturday, it exposed the longstanding tension between a public official's accessibility and their security.
Both State Representative Melissa Hortman, who along with her husband Mark was killed, and State Senator John A. Hoffman, who along with his wife Yvette was wounded, readily shared their home addresses with constituents. Ms. Hortman's address was listed on her campaign website, and Mr. Hoffman's address had been listed on his official legislative webpage, a common practice in many states.
But in the hours after the shootings, while police officers were still searching for the assassin, lawmakers across the country began to rethink their approach to privacy and safety. The Michigan State Police held security briefings for legislators. The police in Fairfax County, Va., increased patrols around lawmakers' homes. And in North Dakota, officials decided by midday Saturday to scrub home addresses from legislator biography pages.
'In light of the tragedy in Minnesota, we quickly decided to remove all addresses until our leaders have time to assess the proper balance between transparency and safety of our elected officials,' John D. Bjornson, the director of the North Dakota Legislative Council, said in an email.
In interviews with lawmakers across the country, some said sharing their home address helped reassure constituents that they were part of the community and could be easily reached. But unlike governors and presidents, most state lawmakers have no special security protection when they are away from work. The country's coarsening public discourse has left them to weigh difficult trade-offs.
'Part of the reason why my address is easily found is to make it clear that I actually live in my district,' said Stephanie Sawyer Clayton, a Democratic state representative in Kansas. 'If you have a P.O. box, you don't look authentic, right?'
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