STEVE SCALISE: Scalise: Shooting ‘fortified’ my view on gun rights.

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) says that getting shot at the GOP baseball practice over the summer — and nearly losing his life as a result — has strengthened his views against gun control.

Fox News’s Martha MacCallum asked Scalise in an interview to be aired later Tuesday if his experience and the deadly mass shooting in Las Vegas on Sunday night have changed his views about the Constitution’s Second Amendment.

“I think it’s fortified it,” Scalise said.

Echoing comments made by other congressional Republicans and the White House, Scalise said that lawmakers should focus on supporting victims and law enforcement before advocating for a legislative response.

“Because first of all you’ve got to recognize that when there’s a tragedy like this, the first thing we should be thinking about is praying for the people who were injured and doing whatever we can to help them, to help law enforcement. We shouldn’t first be thinking of promoting our political agenda,” Scalise said.

Scalise’s congressional website notes that his support gun rights has earned him an A-plus rating from the National Rifle Association. The bills he has supported over the years would ease interstate gun sales and ensure national reciprocity for concealed-carry permit holders.

Two things worth passing.