after wednesday's shooting at a congressional baseball practice, he wrote a commentary that members of congress should allow -- should be allowed to carry firearms. he is here to talk about why he believes members of congress should be able to legally carry firearms. thank you for joining us today. tell us why you think it is a good idea for members of congress to the arms -- to be armed. >> this is an issue of safety and accessibility. we need to make sure lawmakers toe the best security and make sure they are accessible by their constituents.

allow lawmakers and to carry arms if they had a conceal and carry permit. they could be saved in their person and give an additional level of purity at these meetings -- level of security at these meetings. >> you send generally capitol hill prohibits lawmakers from taking firearms in congress. a proposal by a congressman out of georgia would change that, allowing lawmakers to keep a gun on their hip while legislating. we need to look at security --ails area is grilli security details. allowte legislatures

conceal and carry. is there something that can be learned from those statehouses they can be implemented in bc -- in d.c? >> if you look at those 18 state that allow legislatures to keep legislate, they there have not been problems with safety. you trust lawmakers and to protect themselves. if we're going to trust congressman to legislate and spend billions of dollars each day, i think we should trust them to be able to protect themselves. we continue to talk about efforts to allow members of congress to carry guns in the u.s. capital. independents can call 202-

628-8000. as you said, congress and that the has a -- talk about these two proposals, exactly what they would do and what is the reaction. >> of the idea is to make sure lawmakers do not check their constitutional rights when they walk into the u.s. capital. if you are not a member of the leadership team like majority leader's release was, you're going to be on your own -- majority leader steve scalise was, you are going to be on your own. right now, i think what is going unreported is in the fact that in the house members like

representative collins, who are walking around security. there is no way to make certain that they are not carrying at the point. 's bill would codify something that might already be happening. >> market is calling on our democratic line. is calling on our democratic line. >> i am calling because i have a question to ask and the question is why is it so important for congresspeople or any other people to carry a gun. why is it not important for people who are not in the news, people who are not on tv, why is it that they need to have the same privilege? i have met some wonderful , i was on the

amtrak train, on that train, my family reported me. the police officers i met in philadelphia, they were the greatest people i have met since i met new york -- since i left new york. they did nothing but the system me and why -- they did nothing but assist me. why the regular people need to have special privilege, why? >> no one is disputing we have some of the best police. capitol hill police really were heros. i trust those law makers when

they say all they had if the were notolice there was baseball bats. they need to keep an armed firearm to protect themselves under the first amendment -- under the second amendment. a caller pointed to this fact. members of congress pack heat? mel brooks says he does have a conceal and carry permit. he says you never know when crime is going to happen. palmer, another alabama republican among others

who was there wednesday at that ballfield in alexandria. how many members of congress are carrying? certainwant to make they are safe as possible. if you look at the current environment, in florida, the townhalls are like nothing before. this bickering between republicans and democrats. that is infectious. some of these lawmakers are worried that is going to follow them in washington dc. james calling from greenfield, massachusetts on our public . on our republican line.

shooting, of listening to what the congressman had said and they mentioned the congressman yelling at the police to shoot them and i wonder if there is a you have to say stop or i will shoot several times before you can do anything with the washington police. agree thatason -- i the pirates people should be to beo --congresspeople able to carry a gun for their own protection. >> capitol police really sweet

in completely unprepared. on there on the ball, ball and professional. not been scalise practicing with the team that day, this could have been a much worse massacre. fast responsery from police. on the scene in three minutes. if you have those other protections, certainly at the u.s. capital, one of the most secure places in the nation, is it necessary for members of congress to carry guns as well? a the police have a job and response but it still took them a significant amount of time get there. when you are looking at that video, you are seeing a madman with a gun firing shots in a matter of seconds. these lawmakers want to make

certain they can respond. the capital is one of the safest places in the nation but these lawmakers, they are not just of their casting votes, they are all across the bc every single d.c. every single day. beth is calling in from madison, illinois on our democratic line. astounded because you are taking one incident and you are saying now our lawmakers have to carry guns. incident and it did not take the police a long time to get there.

as someone who has visited and gone to the and it on numerous occasions, i don't think i would feel safe as a citizen to know that the people in the senate and the house had guns. you are not looking at what really happens. there have been incidents of gun violence at these town halls. there is rhetoric and people are upset but i think it is totally preposterous that everyone in america is going to carry a gun. a lot of these members are getting death threats not only to them but to their families. the members of congress should have a choice to carry a gun.

that is up to them but i think that it would give a would-be -- more pause knowing representatives could defend themselves. three minutes could be an eternity. walker,tative mark these are individuals who are very confident and outgoing, they were very shaken after this occurred. >> we are talking with a commentary writer from the washington examiner, also formally on staff at the daily signal. ,e are talking about efforts his pieces that supports efforts by congress to be able to carry weapons into the capital. republicans call this number.

we just had congress robin kelly - congresswoman gabrielle giffords wrote an wenion piece where she said, must technology problem, and unacceptable rate of gun balance in this country and we have responsibility to find solutions. that is where we as a nation will need courage and abundance as my former colleagues find the strength to recover from their wounds and the bravery to try to make shootings like this one less likely in the future.

talk about that position. >> what is interesting about the aftermath of this massive attack was democratstack seem silent. clock, underthe president obama, when he had control of the house and the senate, he was not able to get gun control into law. she chances with republican in control is next to nil. one caller said something about she is from illinois and she ignored the fact that chicago is like baltimore here in maryland, one of the murder capitals of the nation. meetings town hall was congressman

giffords who was shot at a right line -- at a rope line. congress is trying to pass a that leaves usw into thin for ourselves. why are they not expanding this and give the nation their second amendment rights. i'm in maryland, i'm trying to buy a gun and on top of a period, i had to go and qualify for a license to buy a gun. it is just another way of getting money. we haveer rights do where you have to first prove your worthiness to have the right.

if the state can stand between me and my second amendment right, do i really have a right? rightey cited now it is a -- all of a son now it is a right granted by the government. and oursentative massy lawyers are strong proponent of the second amendment. they do not see it as a special .rivilege but as a general rule libertarian and conservative members want to see an expansion of rights, not a limiting of them. are some members of congress who do not want to carry a gun. work?ll that itit will work the same way

works outside of d.c. we have a problem in this country not necessarily with people who got concealed carry havets but individual to weapons who should not. situatione a similar to what is going on in our country. we have 18 state legislatures that account -- that allow lawmakers to carry guns there. say we should apply local statutes to the federal legislatures. there is an inverse relationship between guns in the hands of responsible citizens and a decrease in crimes. you say you are not criticizing the capitol police. >> i think your last caller

mentioned to chicago. we have seen a lot of the cities who had strict regulations on guns continue to have very stringent requirements for owning the firearm. when you make it more difficult for a proverbial good guy to have a gun, you disarm them. there is an inverse relationship between crime because private citizens do not mean harm to other people. it is the criminals at that do. >> sheila calling from washington dc on our independent line. in taking a job, especially for a lawmaker, part of the job comes with an inherent possibility that you could be wounded or whatever. why are these people taking the job?

this is part of their duty as lawmakers. you know you could possibly be faced with the situation that your life could be on the line. if you are not comfortable with that, maybe you should not apply for that particular position. i hear all these people calling from other states, what right do they have to tell the district what to do. i'm from maryland, people from texas and other states are calling in and telling me here in maryland, what should we be allowed to do. that is my comment. right, a lotr is of these lawmakers are making. there are sacrifices, they have

to be away from their home and they have to pray for their security. this is one solution that would increase security for these men and women. >> some of our callers throughout the show have expressed concern that arming members of congress at a time when political anger is high might be a bad idea. we've seen some really harsh language. adding weapons to the situation will only be adding the match to the powder cake. >> i don't think we have gone so far that there have been any actual threats of violence. yesterday we saw a powerful image on the baseball field. we thought republicans and democrats have read together and praying for majority with

police. sides of the aisle, they use partisan and heated rhetoric but they are friends because they know one another. i don't think that would be much of a concern. host: ok. linda is calling from oregon on our democratic line. good morning, linda. caller: good morning. wasn't that a great game, ah, last night? guest: it really was. caller: i am sorry. it's not funny. it just happened yesterday and 've been up since -- 12 hours. but i get this image of all these -- [laughter] legislators on the field with their holsters and their guns just like matt dillon or someone trying to run bases. i'm sorry. listen, i liked what most that e that i heard say

thank god our representative scalise was there. it's terrible he was shot. i think if there's more than one or two hanging out together, there should be security regardless of who it is, whether they're -- you know -- i mean. but somebody thinks that representative scalise needed the security, so they were there. they did their job. guest: linda, i think you're right there because when you're mentioning the fact you have multiple members of congress gathering, that's one of the concerns that members have brought to the sergeant at arms and they said perhaps the security detail for every member is too far-fetched but it might be possible to have a special detail. if you have dozens of congressmen together. that seems like a commonsense

solution that could be pursued in the future. so it sounds like linda son the right crack. ost: ok, rainy is calling from rawley. -- raleigh, north carolina. caller: yes, i'm call from raleigh, north carolina. however, even though i may be republican, i always say according to the constitution. had a 20% obin voting record, according to the constitution, so that's how you have to judge these congressmen. now, what i think is that everyone needs to take one of the firearm courses. that's a necessity. you need to know how to use the gun. now, if anyone wants to know what's going on and who the groups are that are behind all

f these organizations is the new american magazine and the data that is february 6, 2017. it's only $3.75. host: rainy, what's the point that it makes? quickly. caller: it makes -- it gives you every organization that's coming in here and bringing in these groups that are being to disrupt. 20 they have no allegiance for this country. they are for the dollar. host: we have to break soon to carry the house pro forma session. go ahead and react to the n.r.a. and other groups. guest: i am old enough to remember that we settled agreements with discussions, not with burnt limb sdemreens and smashed starbucks windows. we have seen an uptick in this partisan ranker. we see it on inauguration day

and in a number of protests. this is disturb. i don't think we are going to be able to move past this ranker until republicans and democrats stop reflectively hating one another. if we have a discussion that will move things forward. host: all right. philip wegmann, the commentator writer from "the washington examiner." you can find his work at washingtonexaminer.com and >> i asked friends who thought

-- who they thought should get more credit than they get. i was intrigued by that from the outset. his is not a name most americans know many things about yet he had a profound impact on our system of government. he is the one who talked benjamin franklin about federalism. it made its way into the articles of confederation and then the constitution. announcer: watch afterwards on 9:00eastern -- at eastern on c-span. this is moderated by april ryan, the author of "at mama's knee."

>> also married francis bailey. francis baily, julianne " are we author of better off? " then lease the two charles gibson about his collection of speeches on american principles. >> i began to think about the

great presidents throughout the years who have been readers of history. many of them wrote history including john kennedy and even those who do not have the benefit of a college education like harry truman read history all their lives. they realized it is essential to the role of a leader, whether it is the presidency or leadership of any kind. cause and effect. history matters. announcer: good to go to the.org for the complete weekend schedule. booktv.org for the complete weekend schedule. announcer: mayor mitch landrieu gave a speech about race at the center for american progress. this is just over an hour.