Scalise Gives First Public Remarks Since Shooting: I Can’t Wait to ‘Get Back Home’

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R., La.) on Thursday night gave his first address to a public audience since he was shot in the hip in June, telling Louisianans he cannot wait to "get back home."

"I wish I could be there in person but I'm still recovering at a rehabilitation hospital and I can tell you, I cannot wait til the day that I can get back home," Scalise said in a pre-recorded message played at the Louisiana Family Forum's annual legislative awards gala. The organization was honoring Scalia with its "Gladiator Award."

The audience at the socially-conservative Christian Family Forum's event, which included several high-profile Louisiana politicians, gave Scalise a long standing ovation, according to the Advocate, a Baton Rouge-based newspaper.

Scalise remains in inpatient rehab in Washington, D.C., after he was discharged from MedStar Washington Hospital Center in July.

The Louisiana Republican was shot in the hip in June by a gunman who targeted a GOP congressional baseball practice in Alexandra, Va. He was quickly rushed to the hospital in critical condition after the shooting.

Sen. Rand Paul (R,. Ky.) was practicing along with Scalise at the time and said the shooting would have been a "massacre" if Capitol Hill Police had not saved their lives.

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