WE SHOULD GO BACK TO THAT PRACTICE: Guns and Members, When Congress Protected Itself.

Before there were Capitol Police to protect Congress (and leave their guns stashed in bathrooms), lawmakers tended to their own security — and their own weaponry.

And through much of the first half of the 19th century, whenever political tensions began to run high, guns were likely to appear on the hips of members.

It would do them good.