One Republican lawmaker believes that concealed carry reciprocity for members of Congress should be considered as part of possible security upgrades after House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., was shot at practice for the congressional charity baseball game early Wednesday morning.
Under Rep. Barry Loudermilk’s proposal, members who are allowed to conceal carry a weapon in their home state would be able to in Washington. Loudermilk, R-Ga., said the problem is that the nation’s capital does not recognize concealed carry licenses from other states.
“There are several things to look at,” Loudermilk said. “First of all, if this had happened in Georgia, he wouldn’t have gotten too far. I had a staff member who was in his car, maybe 20 yards behind the shooter… who back in Georgia carries a nine millimeter in his car. I carry a weapon. He had a clear shot at him. But here, we’re not allowed to carry any weapons here… Most of us are here in D.C., so how are you supposed to have it here?”
“I think we need to look at some kind of reciprocity for members here,” Loudermilk said. “But also we need to look at security detail. If Scalise hadn’t been on our team, it would have been really bad.”
Scalise warrants a security detail because he’s on the GOP leadership team.
“We aren’t any more special than anybody else, but we’re targets,” Loudermilk said. “This is exactly why there’s a lot of fear of doing town halls at this point.”
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Barry Loudermilk wants concealed carry for lawmakers in DC after Scalise shooting https://t.co/5ZuCkUcBFI pic.twitter.com/eEi7XSWmG9
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) June 14, 2017
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