Former U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman suggested Thursday that the Orlando shooting wouldn't have been as deadly in a Texas bar.
In a tweet from the Houston Republican's Twitter account, Stockman said that Sunday's massacre — which killed 49 and wounded dozens more — wouldn't have claimed so many lives in his home state.
The reason? In Texas bars, "we shoot back."
Trust me - there wouldn't b 49 dead in a Texas bar. We shoot back.
— Steve Stockman (@SteveWorks4You) June 16, 2016
Though Texas's gun laws are fairly lax and allow for open carry in many places, the exception to that rule is "any establishment with a Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission permit," according to Austin's KUT news.
And in "bars or a businesses that make 51 percent of their money from the sale of alcohol, all guns are banned – even if you have a concealed handgun license," KUT reported.
The terror attack at a gay nightclub in Orlando has reignited the debate over gun control. Senate Democrats filibustered for nearly 15 hours Wednesday to argue that the U.S. should tighten its restrictions on gun purchases.
Stockman has a long history of controversial tweets — including saying that President Barack Obama has no sympathy for rape victims and that the president "wants to make your neighborhood as safe as Chicago and as prosperous as Detroit."
Stockman served in the House of Representatives from 1995 to 1997 and 2013 to 2015.
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