The news that a security fence will be built around the Governor’s Mansion is both troubling – due to the fact that there is even a need for one – and reassuring – because it will provide the first family the privacy and safety they deserve.

The “People’s House,” as it is affectionately known, has been a part of our community for more than a century, and while its residents come and go, it’s a special place to those of us who call the capital city home. It’s a place South Frankfort neighbors pass on their after-dinner evening walks and parents snap pre-prom photos.

For 106 years, a security fence around the mansion has not been necessary because we are good neighbors. In fact, on the morning before a new governor is sworn in it is a Frankfort tradition for townsfolk to welcome him with a tray full of food on a silver platter.

It’s a tragedy that due to the disrespectfulness of a few out-of-towners, whose actions were fueled by a heated political climate and pure stupidity, the Governor’s Mansion must now be enclosed.

Two months ago, following a Second Amendment rights rally on the back Capitol lawn, demonstrators – some of whom were armed — hung Gov. Andy Beshear in effigy from a tree on the grounds, but also marched past security signs to the front porch of the mansion, chanting for the governor to come outside.

“Crossing over barriers, standing on the other side of the glass from where I raise my kids and hanging me in an effigy, that’s an action intended to use fear to get their way,” Beshear said in the days following the protest.

Fortunately, the governor, first lady and their two young children were not at the residence at the time. But Kentucky State Police, charged with protecting the family, recommended adding the fence as a security precaution.

According to Jill Midkiff, a spokeswoman for the state Finance and Administration Cabinet, the fencing will be 4-5 feet high and “maintain the integrity” of the mansion’s exterior.

While it’s sad and we hate to see the Governor’s Mansion fenced in, we understand that the first family’s safety is paramount. They have every right to feel as protected in their home as we do in ours.