As most people have pointed out, Hillary Clinton has largely avoided the topic of gun control, especially in 2008 when she was running against Barack Obama. This week, however, she broke her silence on the topic and called for increase gun control laws and a reduction in the “article of faith,” as she calls it, that says Americans should be able to carry a weapon anywhere they choose.
Report from the National Journal:
Speaking at a National Council for Behavioral Health conference outside of Washington, Clinton was asked about the role guns play in suicides. While Clinton said she supports Second Amendment rights, she added that there needs to be a proper trade-off between safety and freedom, and that things have swung too far toward the latter.
“I think again we’re way out of balance. We’ve got to rein in what has become almost an article of faith that almost anybody can have a gun anywhere at any time. And I don’t believe that is in the best interest of the vast majority of people,” she said. [Emphasis added]
She referred to recent high-profile incidents of minor disputes in movie theaters or parking lots that escalated into lethal shootings, saying, “That’s what happens in the countries I’ve visited that have no rule of law.”
In other words, Mrs. Clinton is in favor of new gun laws though she didn’t get specific as to what she might support or push as President. She admits this hurt Bill Clinton in the 1990s when he pushed hard for the “Assault Weapons Ban,” which was a ban on semi-automatic rifles that met certain aesthetic guidelines.
Is this a good move for Hillary to make? Is she trying to avoid someone running to her left on this issue for her base?
