Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, who was wounded in a mass shooting this summer, says his own experience and the Las Vegas shooting last weekend “fortified” his position against gun control legislation, Business Insider reports.
Scalise made the comments during an interview with Fox News host Martha MacCallum.
“The gunman actually cleared background checks,” Scalise told MacCallum. “To promote some kind of gun control, I think, is the wrong way to approach this. And frankly, what I experienced, when there was a shooter, luckily we had Capitol Police with their own guns.”
The Las Vegas massacre, which left at least 58 dead and 527 injured, is considered the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.
Scalise was shot in June as he took part in a GOP Congressional baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia. James Hodgkinson, 66, was identified as the shooter and died from his injuries after a shootout with police. Scalise has had several surgeries and continues his rehabilitation.
