*WASHINGTON:* A US congressman said he pulled out a loaded Smith & Wessonpistol during a meeting with gun control activists Friday in a bid to provethat firearms are not responsible for the violence.

House Republican Ralph Norman of South Carolina told The Post and Couriernewspaper that he drew the handgun and placed it on a table while at a“Coffee With Your Congressman” event at a diner, in an attempt to conveythat guns are only dangerous if in the wrong hands.

“I’m not going to be a Gabby Giffords,” said Norman, 64, referring to theformer congresswoman from Arizona who was shot in the head during ameet-and-greet outside a grocery store in 2011.Trump reverses threat to shut down US government

Giffords was gravely wounded in that attack. She survived and became aprominent gun safety advocate. Both Giffords and her husband, retired NASAastronaut Mark Kelly, are longtime gun owners.

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

“If we want to protect our kids and communities, Congress must get seriousabout passing safer gun laws. For our kids’ sake, let’s show our leaders weexpect them to behave more like Gabby and less like Congressman Norman.”

The paper said Norman also claimed: “I don’t mind dying… But whoever shootsme better shoot well or I’m shooting back.”

Norman’s indelicate reference to Giffords appeared to suggest that herdebilitating injury was in some way due to her not being adequately armed.

The congressman later issued a statement saying he is a concealed carrypermit holder and regularly brings his gun with him when in public.

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“Mental health, and more importantly, a lack of morality is the drivingforce behind this epidemic. Guns are not the problem,” he said, adding thathe had responded appropriately to questions by “a group of organisedanti-gun activists.”

The incident came as Americans debate the prospect of Congress passing newgun safety laws in the wake of several mass shootings, including a Februarymassacre at a Florida high school that left 17 people dead.

Last year during his unsuccessful US Senate campaign, former judge RoyMoore of Alabama drew a pistol from his pocket while on stage at a rally asa way to show the Republican candidate’s commitment to the constitutionalright to bear arms. – Agencies