House Majority Whip Steve Scalise’s life was forever changed this summer when a bullet entered his body on a baseball field where he and his congressional colleagues gathered for charity. Leftist gunman James T. Hodgkinson wanted to kill as many Republicans as possible, but failed and was shot dead on-site. Just a few days ago, a still-recovering Scalise walked back onto the House floor, but this time, assisted with crutches.
Scalise’s return had many among the press wondering if his stance on the Second Amendment had changed after becoming a victim of a mass shooting. Add to that the massacre of 58 people in Las Vegas and surely Scalise wants to see some new form of gun control. But that’s not the case at all, as NBC’s Chuck Todd learned Sunday on Meet the Press.
No matter what objections Todd lobbed at Scalise, the congressman would never agree that U.S. citizens should be limited in owning firearms.
“Our Founding Fathers believed strongly in gun rights for citizens,” Scalise told the host. “Frankly, they thought it was an assumed right.”
“So, it is a long history in our country to make sure that you protect the rights of citizens to bear arms,” Scalise added.
But Todd wanted to know if that was an “unlimited” right.
“It is,” Scalise said unflinchingly.
“You really believe it’s unlimited,” Todd rebounded.
Scalise went on to remind the NBC host that there are already limits on gun ownership and it hasn’t stopped one criminal act. Instead of making new laws, Scalise said the government should only enforce the ones already in place.
Scalise also spoke the plain truth that the plans of Democrats, like Nancy Pelosi, are engineered to be slippery slopes. They may say they want to just go after bump stocks but they want so much more. He said it wasn’t until after Vegas that many lawmakers had even heard of bump stocks and suddenly they were speaking about them as if they’re experts.
“It’s a fallacy,” Scalise said for them to start writing laws when they know nothing. “Let’s focus on the facts.”
Todd asked a question that burns on the lips of leftists after each gun death: “Is there a point where somebody’s right to bear arms infringes on somebody else’s right to be safe and secure at a country music concert?”
“Absolutely,” Scalise responded. “If they break the law and take away your rights, you know, you’ve got a right to be protected in your home and when you’re out in public. And if you’re abiding by the law, nobody has the right, whether it’s a gun, a hammer, or a knife, to deny you your rights and attack you.”
Todd was never satisfied with the congressman’s answer and recoiled heavily when Scalise mentioned how in totalitarian countries, the government confiscated guns. Even during Hurricane Katrina, guns were confiscated door-to-door, Scalise said. But from the sound of it, Todd wouldn’t mind if that continued. In his estimation, there are “too many guns” in Americans’ hands.
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