Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was in Hartford on Thursday, speaking alongside family members of victims of gun violence.
Clinton praised Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy, who she said passed some of the toughest gun laws in the country following the shooting at Sandy Hook. She said the state’s bipartisan gun control legislation should be a model for the nation.
Clinton spoke about guns to a crowd of a few hundred at a small basketball court in a Hartford community center.
“The gun lobby is the most powerful lobby in Washington,” Clinton said, “because they have figured out how to intimidate elected officials at all levels -- who basically just stopped thinking about this problem, because they are too scared to stand up to the NRA.”
Clinton said she understands that it was challenging for the state to pass legislation expanding an assault weapons ban and barring large-capacity ammunition magazines, among other changes. She acknowledged that she wasn't in Connecticut to make promises she can't keep, but she vowed to make sure the gun issue isn’t ignored.
Clinton was joined by family members of gun violence victims, including the daughter of the principal at Sandy Hook Elementary School who died along with 20 first-graders and five other educators in 2012.
Erica Smegielski said mass shootings are the minority, and focus is needed on the everyday gun violence.
This report contains information from the Associated Press.
