Hillary Clinton outlined a plan to curb gun violence on Monday at a town hall in New Hampshire in the wake of a mass shooting at an Oregon community college last week.
The Democratic front-runner called for comprehensive background checks, restrictions on gun manufacturers, a ban on assault and military-style weapons and increased restrictions to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill and those with a history of domestic abuse. Her plans further include making straw purchasing weapons for a violent felon to be a federal crime, tightening what supporters describe as the gun show and Internet sales loopholes and closing the “Charleston loophole,” which allows a gun sale to continue without a background check if that check isn’t completed within three days.
Ninety percent of American citizens, including gun owners, support federally mandated background checks, the Clinton campaign claimed. Clinton called upon those directly affected by gun violence, such as the grief-ridden mother of a Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victim, to help exemplify the need for action.
“I think what you just heard really enforces that nobody knows what will happen,” Clinton said after the mother spoke of her experience with gun violence. “[My plans] are not new. There’s nothing unique behind them except that I am so determined.”
As a senator, Clinton cosponsored legislation to reinstate the assault weapons ban as well as create legislation to close the gun show loophole. When her husband, Bill Clinton, was serving as president, she worked to defend the Brady Bill.
While Clinton has long been a vocal proponent of gun regulation, she did not introduce any legislation to her platform until the shooting last week. On Sunday afternoon, Democratic candidate Martin O’Malley called on both Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders to introduce legislation to curb gun violence. The progressive candidate from Maryland, who currently polls at less than 2 percent, laid out his gun control platform long before Clinton or Sanders.
“I know that not everyone in this room has made a decision about what candidate you will support,” O’Malley said in New Hampshire. “So I’m asking supporters of Sen. Sanders to please urge Sen. Sanders to back these four common sense provisions that I just laid out to reduce gun violence. And I am asking the supporters of Secretary Clinton to please urge Secretary Clinton to back the specific provisions that I just laid out. And I’m asking both Sen. Sanders and Secretary Clinton, Gov. Chafee, all of those in our race, to join me in building a new consensus.”
The first Democratic primary debate is next Tuesday, and the candidates will likely spend much time contrasting their different views on the issue. Sanders stands apart from both Clinton and O’Malley, as he is a proponent of allowing people to have guns in rural areas.
