Staking out a position to the left of other potential Democratic opponents in 2016, Hillary Clinton said a culture where “anybody can have a gun” will lead to a country with “no rule of law and no self-control.”
Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton answers a question at the 2014 National Council for Behavioral Health Conference at Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center at National Harbor, Md., Tuesday, May 6, 2014. Clinton spoke about mental health, political, and social issues during her talk. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
The former secretary of state, New York senator and first lady spoke at the National Council for Behavioral Health conference Tuesday in Oxen Hill, Md., near Washington.
“I think again we're way out of balance,” Clinton said of the Second Amendment debate, according to the Associated Press. “I think that we've got to rein in what has become an almost article of faith that anybody can have a gun anywhere, anytime. And I don't believe that is in the best interest of the vast majority of people. And I think you can say that and still support the right of people to own guns.”
Clinton has not announced she is running for the Democratic presidential nomination yet, but polls show her carrying more than 50 percent against a crowded field of other non-Hillary Democrats struggling to break double digits.
Though often a loser with voters, gun control appeals to the Democratic party’s liberal base for presidential primaries. And Clinton is behind other likely candidates in this area.
Vice President Joe Biden was the face of the Obama administration’s failed efforts to push gun control legislation in Congress in 2013, but could use the issue to rally support if he runs in 2016.
Two other likely Democratic contenders in 2016 are New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, both who signed sweeping gun control legislation in their states in the aftermath of the Newtown, Connecticut school massacre in 2012.
Speaking at the mental health conference, Clinton warned of the dire consequences of the gun culture.
“At the rate we're going, we're going to have so many people with guns everywhere, fully licensed, fully validated,” Clinton said.
Clinton warned that such a culture could increase incidents of theater shootings over trivial matters such as someone chewing gum too loud or using their cell phone.
“That's what happens in the countries I've visited where there is no rule of law and no self-control and that is something that we cannot just let go without paying attention,” she said.
(H/T: Chicago Sun-Times)
