Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) recently announced plans in the wake of the Arizona shooting to reintroduce a piece of legislation that would provide for the creation of Plexiglas-like wall that would enclose the House gallery, preventing visitors from being able to throw explosives onto the floor.
"The Architect of the Capitol shall enclose the visitors' galleries of the House of Representatives with a transparent and substantial material, and shall install equipment so that the proceedings on the floor of the House of Representatives will be clearly audible in the galleries," the legislation reads, according to CBS News.
From CBS News's report:
A past version of the legislation, which will be reintroduced in the wake of the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords on Saturday, references past attacks on Congress. Among them are a 1915 bombing by a man protesting U.S. involvement in World War 1, the shooting of five members of Congress by Puerto Rican nationalists during a House vote in 1954, and a the placing of a bomb by the Weather Underground in a Senate bathroom in 1971. (The bomb went off early and no one was hurt.)
Following the attack, AP reports that congressional members held a large conference call to discuss additional measures that would be taken in order to protect legislators.
Beyond those issues discussed over the weekend, Politico reports Tuesday that other lawmakers such as Rep. Jesse Jackson (D-Ill.), who has proposed a 10 percent increase in staff budgets to cover improved security measures, have begun to float ideas to bolster congressional protections.
As HuffPost's Ryan Grim and Lucia Graves reported Tuesday, Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) is expected to introduce legislation that will combine gun control concerns with the safety of government officials by making it illegal to carry a firearm within 1,000 feet of such officeholders.