Rep. Tom Reed (R-Corning)
WASHINGTON – Congressman Tom Reed (R-Corning, NY 23) has offered his thoughts on the shooting incident that took place last week in Washington DC that critically injured one of his colleagues.
Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the House majority whip, was one of five people wounded in the shooting that took place as members of the Republican caucus were practicing at a ball field for an upcoming congressional charity baseball game.
Since the shooting, there has been talk of lawmakers in Washington taking measures to increase their safety and protection, with some suggestion members of congress arm themselves. During his weekly conference call with regional media, Reed was asked if that’s something he’s now doing or planning to do.
“I’m not going to comment on my personal position in regard to carrying a weapon,” Reed said. “I will tell you that security has been discussed in our office and the need to make sure that we learn from the tragic event from last week. And that we put security on a higher priority, given the nature of what we’re seeing across the country and what was exhibited during the shooting at the ball field. So when it comes to carrying a weapon, I believe in that right and support that right, but we don’t comment on our security measures and the actions that we take as a staff and me as a member.”
Reed also said he hopes the incident will help to tone down the rhetoric and infighting between the two political sides within the country.
“I hope we take this incident and we grow as a country to be more respectful, to make sure that when we disagree, we do it in a way that we don’t forget that we are Americans at our core and we are fellow citizens of the greatest country that ever existed on the face of the earth,” Reed said. “We may not agree on everything, but we can agree to disagree in a respectful manner.”
The gunman in last week’s incident, James Hodgkinson, 66, was an unemployed home inspector who volunteered for Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign and had a history of animus toward President Donald Trump and other Republicans. He was shot during the response of the shooting and later died from his injuries.
Leave a Reply