Washington (CNN) Republican Rep. Ralph Norman pulled out his loaded, personal .38-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun Friday and laid it on the table at a diner where he was meeting with his constituents in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

Norman told CNN he wanted to make a point in the debate over gun violence.

"I merely proved a point that guns themselves are not the issue," he said.

Norman said that having a loaded gun in the room should, if anything, have made people feel more safe.

"Given the scenario that if someone had walked into that diner and began to fire a weapon, I told them I would be able to defend myself and them as well," he explained.

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