Loudermilk: Lawmakers Should Be Able To Carry Guns

Following a June 14 shooting that targeted a team baseball practice made up of Republican members of Congress, one GOP lawmaker openly expressed the idea of allowing members of Congress to carry guns.

The shooting left five injured, including House Majority Whip Republican Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, according to the Daily Caller.

“If this had happened in Georgia, he wouldn’t have gotten too far,” said Republican Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Georgia. “I had a staff member who was in his car maybe 20 yards behind the shooter, who was pinned in his car, who back in Georgia carries a 9-millimeter in his car … He had a clear shot at him. But here, we’re not allowed to carry any weapons here.”

Guns are strictly regulated in Washington, D.C., although less so in Virginia, where the baseball practice shooting took place.

“Most of us are here in D.C., so how do you have the gun here and just transport it to Virginia?” stated Loudermilk. “I think we need to look at some kind of reciprocity for members here. But also we need to look at security detail. If Scalise hadn’t been on our team, it would have been really bad.”

A security detail for Scalise was at the practice, and members of the detail shot and killed the attacker.

Some in Washington speculated that the situation at the baseball practice would have been much more severe were it not for Scalise’s security detail.

“Everybody probably would have died, except for the fact that the Capitol Hill police were there,” said Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky. “And the only reason they were there is because we had a member of leadership on our team.”  

Loudermilk said all lawmakers, not just top leaders, should be provided with security. Currently, most members of Congress do not have a security detail.

“We’re not any more special than anybody else, but we are targets,” said Loudermilk. “This is exactly why there is a lot of fear of even doing town halls at this point. Some of the things this guy is posting on Facebook — we get the same things, and even worse.”

Republican Rep. Chris Collins of New York said that going forward he would be armed in public.

“If you look at the vulnerability, I can assure you from this day forward, I have a carrier permit,” said Collins in a radio interview. “I will be carrying when I’m out and about.”

Sources: The Washington Post, Washington Examiner, Daily Caller / Photo credit: Gage Skidmore/Flickr