WASHINGTON — Texas Republican Rep. Roger Williams, a player on his party’s congressional baseball team, agreed with his colleagues that he would have felt more comfortable if he had been armed during Wednesday morning’s shooting.
Michigan Republican Rep. Mike Bishop, another ball player at the field, said earlier Wednesday that he and his colleagues were “sitting ducks” on the field. Williams agreed.
“Well, it took the second shot for me to understand what was happening here,” Williams told The Daily Caller at a press conference late Wednesday afternoon. “Everybody we were sitting ducks. I mean we had no we had nothing to fight back with but bats if it got to that. We were sitting ducks. I think he was not able to get on the field because the gate was locked on the other side. If you gotten on the field it could have been a bad situation. But he was not able to do that. But we were sitting ducks.”
When asked if he thinks members should be able to carry firearms in the Capitol and other currently restricted places, he replied: “Remember two things. Well, first of all, I’m for the Second Amendment — a big Second Amendment guy, and I’m from Texas. So yes, I would have felt lot more comfortable if we were able to do that.”
Another member of the conference’s baseball team who was on the field during the incident concurred.
“I think we need to look at some kind of reciprocity for members here,” Rep. Barry Loudermilk told The Daily Caller earlier in the day. Loudermilk, according to team manager Texas Rep. Joe Barton, helped administer first aid to Louisiana Republican Rep. Steve Scalise, who was shot by the gunman. (RELATED: GOP Lawmaker Says Reciprocity Should Be Considered For Members Of Congress)