Lawmaker says he’s not like Gabby Giffords after showing off gun

A Republican congressman in South Carolina whipped out his personal handgun and laid it on the table in a bid to prove firearms are only dangerous when they are in the wrong hands.

“I’m not going to be a Gabby Giffords,” Rep. Ralph Norman during a “Coffee with Constituents” meeting at a Rock Hill restaurant.

Giffords, a former Arizona congresswoman, was shot outside a Tucson grocery store during a meeting with constituents in 2011. Six people were killed and another 13 were injured during the attack.

She and her husband, retired NASA astronaut Mark Kelly, have since advocated for gun control legislation.

“Americans are increasingly faced with a stark choice: leaders like Gabby, who work hard together to find solutions to problems, or extremists like the NRA and Congressman Norman, who rely on intimidation tactics and perpetuating fear,” Kelly said in response to Norman's actions.

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Norman, a concealed carry permit holder, told the Post and Courier he wanted to show that “guns don’t shoot people; people shoot guns.”

He also told those attending the meeting he’d be able to protect them should a shooter walk into the facility.

“I don’t mind dying, but whoever shoots me better shoot well or I’m shooting back,” he said.

The freshman lawmaker plans to pull his gun out in future meetings and does not regret doing so on Friday in the least, he said.

The move comes a day after a trio of House Republicans introduced legislation that would allow the state to consider secession should the federal government begin to “confiscate legally purchased firearms.”