Rep. Mo Brooks told Newsmax TV on Tuesday that he introduced legislation that would allow lawmaker to carry guns because "we need to be able to defend ourselves."
"In Washington, D.C., right now we can't," the Alabama Republican told Bill Tucker on "America Talks Live."
Brooks, 63, who was first elected in 2010, was on the Virginia ballfield last Wednesday when James Hodgkinson opened fire on House GOP members practicing for a charity baseball game against Democrats.
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana was shot in the hip, and four others were injured.
He remained in serious condition Tuesday at a Washington hospital.
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Members of Scalise's Secret Service detail, along with two U.S. Capitol Police officers, took down Hodgkinson, 66, of Belleville, Ill.
He later died from gunshot wounds in the attack.
"I was positioned in front of the third-base dugout towards the home plate side of it," Brooks told Tucker. "Pretty close to where the shooter was.
"I was able to make my way from the third-base dugout area to the third-base side of home plate into the first-base dugout without getting shot."
That might have been different had Congress members been allowed to carry guns, Brooks said.
"If I could've made my way to the first-base dugout, I could've also made my way back to the third-base dugout with a pistol in hand," Brooks added.
"Myself or another congressman could've done that – and that congressman would've been in a position to surprise the shooter and take him out before we had more wounded."
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