Civil disobedience: a slippery slope for pre-teens

Capitol Hill traffic regulations state, "No person shall coast or slide a sled within Capitol Grounds." But regulations also allow the Capitol Police Board to waive this rule. Last week, as forecasters predicted 4 to 8 inches of snow Wednesday and Thursday, delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) asked for a waiver after the storm. "This could be the last snowstorm the D.C. area gets this winter,"she pleaded. "Children and their parents should be able to enjoy sledding on one of the best hills in the city." Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) tweeted that he would co-sign her letter. Capitol Police usually look the other way when kids sled on Capitol Hill, but recently began enforcing the ban, reportedly after complaints from a top member of Congress.

Back in 2010, then-Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Conn) secured a waver by working with the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms, allowing residents to sled on Capitol Hill after a blizzard nicknamed "Snowpocalypse." When Capitol Police failed to respond to Norton's recent request for a waiver, Dodd took his family to Capitol Hill again, to teach them civil disobedience. Here's a brief video of how well they learned the lesson, and had fun too.  www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjaOplALOrw