US lawmaker pulls out gun at meeting to prove ‘guns are not problem’
A US lawmaker says he pulled out a loaded pistol during a meeting with constituents and anti-gun activists in a bid to prove that firearms are not responsible for the country's widespread gun violence.
Representative Ralph Norman, a Republican from South Carolina, told The Post and Courier newspaper on Friday that he drew the handgun and placed it on a table in an attempt to convey that guns are only dangerous if in the wrong hands.
The incident took place at an event called "Coffee With Your Congressman" at a restaurant in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
"I'm not going to be a Gabby Giffords," said Norman, 64, referring to the former congresswoman from Arizona who was shot in the head during a meet-and-greet outside a grocery store in 2011.
Giffords was gravely wounded in that attack. She survived and became a prominent advocate against gun violence. Norman's insensitive reference to Giffords appeared to suggest that her debilitating injury was in some way due to her not being adequately armed.
"I don't mind dying," Norman added, according to the paper. "But whoever shoots me better shoot well or I'm shooting back."
The congressman later issued a statement saying he has a firearm permit and regularly brings his gun with him when in public.
"Mental health, and more importantly, a lack of morality is the driving force behind this epidemic. Guns are not the problem," he said.
Norman’s remarks came as hundreds of thousands of Americans have rallied in recent weeks to demand tighter gun laws in the wake of several mass shootings, including a massacre at a Florida high school in February that left 17 people dead.
The majority of Americans support stricter gun control laws but have little hope that Congress will pass such measures, according to a new poll.
The POLITICO/Morning Consult poll released Wednesday shows 66 percent of Americans prefer US gun laws to be tightened. Just 28 percent said they oppose tougher gun control measures.
Last month, Republican President Donald Trump signed a $1.3 trillion spending bill that includes modest improvements to background checks for gun sales and grants to help schools prevent gun violence.
Gun control activists want the US Congress, many of whose members are up for re-election this year, to ban the sale of assault weapons like the one used in the Florida rampage and to tighten background checks for gun buyers.
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