House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, who nearly died in 2017 after being shot during a congressional baseball practice, complained Tuesday that Democrats want to bar his testimony as two high-profile gun bills come to a vote this week.
"They didn't want to hear all sides," the Louisiana Republican told Fox News' "Fox and Friends." "They just wanted to hear the side of people who are promoting gun control."
The House is expected to pass a bill this week requiring federal background checks on all sales, including private ones, and to extend the deadline for federal background checks from three days to as many as 20.
Scalise said in his case, people who were using guns properly saved his life and everyone else on the baseball field after James Hodgkinson, a left-wing activist, opened fire on GOP lawmakers while they practiced for a charity baseball game.
"It happens all the time in America, where people actually use a gun to defend themselves," said Scalise. "By the way, that is what the founding fathers intended when they believed it is not just the government's right that tells you can have a gun, it is your own personal right to be able to protect yourself."
There is already legislation in place, and there are ways to make the system better, said Scalise.
"We found out federal agencies are not doing their job. Maybe local law enforcement is not doing their job," said Scalise.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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