Clinton unveils gun-control plan

Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton announced new gun-control measures on Monday in the wake of the mass shooting at a community college in Oregon.

Clinton’s gun-control proposal, announced in New Hampshire, calls for closing the so-called gun show loophole on private gun sales, potentially through executive action, and allow victims of gun violence to sue weapon manufacturers by proposing a repeal of legislation.

During a pair of town halls in New Hampshire, Clinton also called for eliminating the “Charleston loophole,” a reference to the June shooting at a church in Charleston, S.C., by barring those with felony records from buying guns if results of a federal background check aren’t returned within three days.

“I really do want to push hard to get more sensible restraints on gun ownership in the wrong hands, and then to try and keep track of people who shouldn’t have guns,” Clinton said during the first event aired on NBC’s “Today Show.”

“I want to work with the Congress – we got very close. There was a bipartisan bill, it didn’t go all the way, but I will also look for ways as president to tighten some of these checks, to get more of the background checks done on more of the sales at gun shows and online than we currently have,” she added.

The measures Clinton announced Monday build on other measures she has already called for, including universal background checks, withholding guns from domestic abusers and renewing an assault weapons ban.

The measures come as Clinton seeks to shore up support among those on the left from rivals amid a surge for Sen.Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who has yet to unveil a gun-control plan. Sanders continues to lead Clinton in the Granite State, according to a poll released over the weekend.

Another Democratic candidate, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, on Sunday touted a package of gun-control measures passed during his tenure and called on the two candidates leading the Democratic field to adopt initiatives on the national level.



Clinton called for new action on gun control following last week’s shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore., which left nine people dead. The latest mass shooting has led to President Obama and many Democrats to renew calls for action.

”This epidemic of gun violence knows no boundaries, knows no limits of any kind,” Clinton said Monday.

“How many people have to die before we actually act? Before we come together as a nation?” asked Clinton, who later choked up when speaking about the grief felt by parents of those killed during the Sandy Hook shooting.

She also reiterated a challenge initiated last week to promote an alternative to the National Rifle Association, calling on gun owners to “form another organization and take back the second amendment from these extremists.”

Many leading Republican presidential candidates have pushed back on calls for gun control following last week’s shooting, instead focusing on issues such as mental health. Clinton bashed those responses as an “admission of defeat.”

This story was updated at 11:34 a.m.