On October 1, President Obama had to once again address the nation concerning another mass shooting. This one was in regards to the shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon. Since, many Democrats have come forward to push even harder for more stringent gun laws. One of those Democrats is presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton.
During a rally in San Antonio, Texas, on Thursday, Oct. 15, Clinton did not hold back on her feelings regarding the subject of gun violence. In fact, those feelings were captured and released for a new campaign video. The beginning of the video shows President Obama speaking on the subject by saying:
“Right now I can imagine the press releases being cranked out. We need more guns they’ll argue. Fewer gun safety laws… Somebody somewhere will comment and say, ‘Obama politicized this issue.’ Well this is something we should politicize.”
The video then cuts to Clinton passionately saying:
“I’ve been told, by some, to quit shouting about this. Well I’ll tell you right now, I will not be silenced, and we will not be silenced. We must continue to speak out… and if you join me, I will keep taking on the NRA. A majority of Americans, and a majority of gun owners, support the changes I have recommended. So let us work to achieve that together.”
I can only speculate that the “quit shouting” remark was in reference to Clinton’s and Bernie Sanders exchange during Tuesday night’s debate. Adding to that, Chron writes:
“The Vermont senator voted for a 2005 measure to give gun manufacturers immunity from lawsuits. Clinton opposed that bill in the Senate and said in the debate that Sanders wasn’t tough enough ‘at all’ on gun violence. Sanders said he supports expanded background checks for gun owners and noted that he’s had a D-minus rating from the National Rifle Association.”
Now, whether Clinton is sincere about battling the National Rifle Association (NRA) has yet to be determined. What this does accomplish, though, is that the issues of gun control and gun violence will finally have a bigger light shined upon them. Maybe this will keep these important issues in the spotlight longer than a few news cycles, or until the next tragedy occurs.
But one thing that is apparent, is that Clinton is using the gun control debate as a serious campaign talking point. Hopefully she will keep the fight going, and common sense will prevail.
On a final note, let’s not forget that this isn’t the first time Clinton has gotten pissed over these shootings.
Featured image by Hillary Clinton via YouTube screen capture, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license.
