In regards to frightening our legislators, technically every person carrying any type of gun could be cited for a .270 violation. Surely we are there with intent to intimidate our legislators into respecting our rights. That is the purpose of the second amendment after all. I do not think this is right, but in the interest of not going to jail, I will be on my best behavior whether I carry a rifle or not.
I think we should concentrate on changing the wording of .270 since it flies in the face of the right to keep and bear arms.
Actually, although "technically every person carrying any type of gun could be cited for a .270 violation" (you can get "cited" for just about anything at any time), if one is only carrying with nothing more, it would be a hard stretch for the prosecutor to make a viable case (assuming that the prosecutor is foolish enough to actually attempt to prosecute). The case law is clear that something
more than the mere display of a weapon must occur for .270 to be violated. The conduct asserted to be violative of the statute must be conduct that actually poses a
threat to others (simply being "alarmed" is not enough). Moreover, if an LEO is foolish enough to actually arrest and/or cite someone for merely carrying, that LEO is likely to find him/herself on the wrong (and probably losing) end of a federal lawsuit for constitutional rights violations. However, knowing that the Capitol grounds are secured by WSP, an unlawful arrest/citation is highly unlikely. Those guys tend to be very savvy about the law and do not usually make mistakes about the propriety of their arrests.
Nevertheless, if any of you gets cited or arrested, make sure you have first acquired one of my business cards.
