sales. 40% of guns are sold at gun shows, online sales. we need to close that loophole. so that when we have a universal background check -- [applause] hillary clinton: it will cover everybody. another loophole is what happened when the young man who murdered the nine people at bible study, in the church basement in charleston -- applied for a gun. the loopholes that they don't get the background check done in three days, you can still go by the gun. it turns out he had a criminal background, and you know how record-keeping is. -- were stillart searching for a. of the end of three days, he goes and buys a gun, as we don't yet had it -- had an automated enough, we don't have information shared from all levels of government. and he got his gun. and was determined to go and use it to kill nine innocent people.

address the very serious problem of military style weapons on her streets. -- on our streets. [applause] hillary clinton: you know, people don't really have a chance. lots of times, when terrible murders like this take place, someone will say if we only had more guns. class, you are driving your baby around in a car seat, you are going to church. and somebody has an automatic -- an, or even worse assault weapon that is a military instrument of war, and you are somehow supposed to be able to stop that with your own

gun? that has never made any sense. [applause] and so from my: perspective, we have got to keep guns out of the hands of people who should not have them. domestic abusers, people with serious mental health problems, there's got to be a better tracking and record-keeping. i remember the terrible massacre at virginia tech. the shooter there had been involuntarily committed. and there was no record of it. information is about people who are excellent, who are suffering and serious mental illness, who are domestic abusers, you got to get that information into the record-keeping, so that the universal background checks will actually show you that here is

somebody who shouldn't have it. people say to me does this really work? i can tell you this. the best data that we have is that since the brady bill implemented background checks, more than 2.4 million people have been stopped from buying a gun. and over one million of those were felons. there were records of those particular potential purchasers. [applause] want toclinton: and i work with all of you. gunnt to work with sensible safety advocates as well as gun owners. i want to work with people from the grassroots up come all the way to washington. because how much longer will we just shrug? oh my gosh, something else terrible happened.

whether it's in your neighborhood, read a community college. children inder of their classrooms? we are to go to the town hall portion of this. but i want to ask one of the mothers from sandy hook, if you wouldn't mind, to just come join me for a minute. because i want you to hear from her. because so many of the parents -- [applause] hillary clinton: you know, so many of the parents of these precious children who are taken theave unimaginable grief that they have been bearing, and have tried to be the voices that we

need to hear. i want you to introduce yourself and maybe talk about what you and other parents are trying to do to get the changes that are necessary. >> thank you. my name is nicole hockley, and the managing director at sandy hook promise and also the mother of dylan, who was six years old when he was killed at sandy hook elementary school. gun violence prevention was nowhere on my radar. before losing my son. i wish it had been. i wish i had done something long before something that i thought could never hit my community hit me. promise,f sandy hook we focus very much on gun safety legislation. and the commonsense practices

you are speaking of, so thank you for taking this on and speaking out. we also very much focused on what can we do to get ahead of the violence? to get upstream of it and help identify and intervene, help people learn how to know the signs of someone who is at risk, and get help before they even get to the state of picking up a weapon to hurt someone else. i think it is a comprehensive solution that is needed between gun access and responsibility, as well as mental health and wellness. and working together with all of the other organizations, and all the other people, as well as yourself, i have absute faith that we can deliver the solution and protect children across america. [applause] hillary clinton: thank you.

you know, i think we just heard really reinforces how nobody knows what might happen. because we haven't done what we need to do. any of us, but particularly our children, safe. that's what behind the proposals i'm making. they are not new. there's nothing unique about them, other than the fact that i am so determined we're going to do everything we possibly can to get this done. [applause] i know thereon: are a lot of people here. from momsbig group

demand action, and from dad's as well. i want to commend them. as they are grassroots organization that is really trying to bring these issues to the public attention. we need more of that. , have said we need a movement that people really will be part of, no matter what other issues that is on your mind, that you .are about -- our safety the great hope that we can protect people who are going about their daily business should be at the top. and therefore, i'm really asking everybody, regardless of politics or partisanship or candidates or anything else to think of the ways that each of us can do more to try to provide safety that of gun will save lives and prevent

violence. people,tart by asking if you want to say something where you have a comment to make on this, or any issue, i would like to start this issue because i know there are people here specifically on this issue and i want to be sure to hear from them. former cumbersome and asked what -- congressman dix sweat, hello. >> it's wonderful to have you here, always a pleasure to be with my good friends the clintons. i want to give everyone a background on our relationship with regards to guns. in 1994, i voted in favor of a crime bill that had in it an assault weapons ban for 17 assault weapons out of nearly 800 weapons that were on the street. [applause] looking for any attention, but i received a letter prior to the vote that i thought would be worth sharing with the people here.

i shared it with hillary earlier. it is a letter from ronald reagan, and it is dated may 5, 1994, and it's written to congressman dix sweat. he writes -- here's a copy of the letter. i'm reading off of his own handwriting. fred ryan told me of your conversation, and i know you were thinking very carefully about the assault weapons bill. as a longtime gun owner and supporter of the right to bear arms, i too have carefully thought about this issue. i'm convinced that the limitations imposed in this bill are absolutely necessary. i know there's a heavy pressure on you to go the other way. but i strongly urge you to join me in supporting this bill. it must be passed. sincerely, ronald reagan. [applause]

>> i've watched hillary and her husband bill worked with people on both sides of the aisle for nearly 30 years. she is someone who is going to solve this problem. she is going to be a leader who will make this problem ultimately, go away. i have every confidence that as our president, hillary, you will be able to tackle this problem that we began trying to tackle back in the 1990's. and i'm so grateful for your leadership, and i look forward to supporting you in the upcoming elections. thank you. [applause] thank you,nton: thank you very much. well, we have a lot to talk about, that's for sure. this gentleman in the green shirt. >> thank you. we are all the way from arizona, i grew up in tucson, arizona. i am a gun owner and the support of the second amendment.

but i couldn't give you more credit that we need to deal with the wrong people getting guns. especially with mental illness. as you know, in tucson, we had a person who had all kinds of trouble and was able to buy a gun, as you said, virginia tech, louisiana, that person had been committed. from a gun owner, from a red state, and a person who owns guns, more power to you. [applause] thank you.nton: thank you. yes, the lady right here. here comes the microphone. >> thanks for picking on me. i have a question about the cdc, and research that was cut off early in the 90's by the republican party.

i think that if you can bring that back, if we could convince legislature to fund research into gun violence, what causes it -- i think we're hitting a lot of marks with that because we are getting mental health issues, we are getting what role guns play, how quickly people can off someone with a gun when they want to. if we can just analyze that data, i think we will be a lot better place. hillary clinton: i agree with you. what she is referring to is that the centers for disease control is responsible for looking at public health issues. if there is dirty water that is making people sick, we are expecting them to tell us what to do to prevent that. so, they were researching gun violence and trying to figure out who is more likely to violence?what kinds of warning signs might there be ? and for very sad reasons,

basically, you're right. the republicans stopped the research. it even goes further than that. there is a law in florida -- i want you to hear this because it was so shocking at first that i really didn't believe it. there is a law in florida that makes it a felony for a pediatrician to talk with families about being sure they keep guns safely away from children. go tolly, a doctor can jail in florida. andou are a pediatrician, you are running through checklists, are you keeping the household poisons out of the wave your kids? especially if you have toddlers exploring everything. you make sure your sharp knives are kept away, are they high enough up so kids can't accidentally get them? it seems perfectly reasonable to

me to say if you have guns in the house, are you sure they are really secure? because too many little kids get a hold of them. we read about it every week. they kill themselves, they kill their friends. doctor'st is a responsibility to try to work with the family so that the family can try and keep their babies safe. if you are in florida, you could go to jail. argument ande the work towards the results that we can learn a lot more about what are the characteristics of people who should not have guns? as we were just hearing from the gentleman from arizona, as we are learning more, certainly what we know about the killer from sandy hook, now the killer from oregon, there probably were some comments, some actions that might have set off some alarms

and people. but if we don't have the good information so that people can be better informed, how do we help them? i agree with you. no issue should be beyond study in america. that's like a denial of everything we believe in our country. [applause] going alongton: with that, so far as i know, the gun industry and gun sellers are the only business in america that is totally free of liability for their behavior. nobody else is given that immunity. thethat just illustrates extremism that has taken over this debate. i was really struck when he was reading the letter from ronald reagan. and the fact that when he was facing a very hard choice, which many people believe cost him his

seat in congress, because he voted for the crime bill which contained the brady bill, which led to the background checks, which led to more than 2 million people not getting guns who were felons or domestic abusers, or otherwise ineligible -- he paid a big price for that. here's a letter from ronald reagan. when the nra was on one of their , calling the alcohol tobacco and firearms enforcers jackbooted thugs, president george h.w. bush resigned as an nra member and said no, i'm not going to be associated with that. [applause] hillary clinton: ideally, what i would love to see is gun owners, responsible gun owners, form a different organization and take back the second amendment from these extremists. [applause]

hillary clinton: ok. [laughter] thank you. this lady right there. here comes the microphone. >> i'm so glad to see you, mrs. clinton. i know this is a big issue in the united states, but i'm from afghanistan. i'm thinking about my country, every day, more than 200 or 300 people died over there. i want to know what your opinion after you become president of the united states, do you want to pull out all united states soldiers or are you thinking they are going to stay there? to stay there for

afghanistan, for protection. i want to know your opinion about that. thank you. hillary clinton: thank you. first, i want to say how distressed i am by the bombing of the hospital. i know that defense secretary carter has said there will be a full thorough investigation to try and get to the bottom of that. but it is deeply regrettable. it came within the context of the taliban taking back over a , and thehe north afghan army, which has performed very bravely -- this is not an army the runs away. this is an army that stands in fights. but they don't have the experience, they don't have a lot of the support that they need to be as successful as they are trying to be. think that we have got to continue to work with the afghan government and the afghan military to support them.

because they are fighting. it's a different story in other parts of the world, but they're in afghanistan, people are fighting for the gains that have 13, 14de in the last years. lot oftill is a conflict, there still is a lot of danger. but taliban is not going away. we know that. but there has been so many positive developments. in number of girls and women school, at work, studying in the united states, going home to try and help their country, businesses that are able to operate now as opposed to being under the sum of the taliban and being forced to basically pay tribute all the time to the taliban -- or have been a lot of advances in health. afghanistan had the worst maternal mortality rate in the world, and things to help for not just the united states, but other countries, working with afghan doctors and nurses,

mothers are surviving childbirth. some of the things that are so basic, that are now so much better in afghanistan. i don't know the specifics of what i will be facing in january of 2017. but afghanistan is a country that has tried. and the people are really focused on getting beyond the violence in the extremism from the taliban. and i don't think we should just walk away. i will do what i can to help. [applause] here comes the: microphone. >> my name is jeannie, i was born on belmont street right here in town. it is no longer the city i was raised in. a lot of that is because of drugs, and because of gun violence. my question to you, hillary, if i can call you that --

hillary clinton: or you can call me val. [laughter] [applause] >> or val. my question is, last week a reporter asked dr. ben carson one question. that question was, as president of the united states, what would you do in advance to assist the like of a horrible events hurricane joaquin. he kept a very short and distinct, and his three word answer was -- i don't know. along with that, as you said last week, a reporter asked jeb bush what he thought about the tragedy in order on -- in organ

-- in oregon. his response to that horrific tragedy was stuff happens. you -- like to know from you explain to this audience and to the nation, why those would not have been your responses, and why, as president of the united states, you are ready to lead from day one. thank you. [applause] hillary clinton: let's take the natural disaster question first. because hurricane joaquin was on everyone's mind. thankfully, it didn't hit as hard as they feared, although south carolina is getting battered with terrible torrential rain. i think one of the most important decisions any new president has is who is going to

run fema, and who is going to be prepared to work with cities, states, and the national government to get prepared for incoming natural disasters, to get pre-positioned the equipments and the food and the experts that you are going to need to be able to help people. i will take that very seriously. hasing for someone who real, hands-on experience, not from 30,000 feet flying over it, but who has been there, who is had to go in and figure out what to do to help people evacuate, what needed to be done to try to do as much as possible to help people save their homes, but not stay in their homes. there's just a lot of hard-won wisdom. because of climate change, we are seeing an increased number of weather events. all over the world, not just in our country.

we need a mapping project. i will give you a perfect example of why i disagree so profoundly with the current republicans, we've heard the letter from ronald reagan, i told you about president george h.w. bush. the current republicans in the congress are trying to cut dramatically the money the federal government puts in to weather forecasting. me, that is so penny wise, pound foolish. we have got to have the best possible weather forecasting. youonly for agriculture and know, everyday occurrences, but also to get ahead of natural disasters and events like big storms. will appoint good people, i will look across the government to figure out what we need to do better so that we have excellent communication with states and local governments, and that we keep people well-informed, so they can make good decisions for themselves.

and that we move really quickly to come in after something's happened, because we can't stop the weather, we know that. but to be really ready to get in there to help the cleanup and the recovery. people need to be empowered to help themselves to. i'm a little worried that sometimes the federal government has the message of don't do anything until we get there. that's not my message. help each other, help fix the problem, help work, take pictures and report things because people are afraid to do that because then they say i want to get some help from the disaster assistance funding, they are told we should have left it alone. no, you shouldn't leave it alone. should be out there helping your neighbors. world has a cell phone. keep a record of it so when the federal government, fema, small business a administration, others show up you can say here is what we had right after the storm, here is what we've been doing to clean up. here's what we spent on why

would an boarding, and the big vacuums to clean up the dirt. hands-on, very practical, very let's get it done. that's how i view that. [applause] all my clinton: goodness. this young lady right there. >> thank you. i was going to say, it has nothing to do with the weather. [laughter] the time i go to college, what would you like united states to be like? hillary clinton: that's a great question. can i ask you how old you are right now? >> 10 years old. hillary clinton: so i have a little time, but not a lot. [laughter] [applause] first of all, i

wanted to truly be the country we all love and cherish. and has given so much to everyone of us who is here in this room today. that still holds out that same promise to you, but if you work hard and you do your part, you will be able to get ahead, and stay ahead, and pursue your dreams. that's what i want for every young person in our country. that means we got to get the economy working better so it it produces more jobs with rising incomes, and i have a lot to say about that. but it's really critical, because i want you to feel like whatever you choose to do, you're going to be part of this great country of ours. --ant the education system is that like it's working pretty well for you. i wanted to work for everybody. and particularly, starting with our youngest kids to get them off to a better start so that they can be successful in school. and i want college to be affordable for you, so we got to

get the cost down. [applause] i have outlined what i call the new college compact to do just that. i just don't want to see young people with ambition, talents, a ablework ethic, not be start school or finish school because it's too expensive. and they can't afford it. that,e got to deal with and we've got to get the cost down so that people don't go into debt. i know that this is a problem in new hampshire. we have to refinance the death of people have so they can be more free to pursue their own interests, and they can actually move out of their parents homes and maybe rent or buy one. and get on with their lives. with health care, i want us to have more and more people who have insurance, so they have quality, affordable health care.

i want us to deal with the big substance abuse epidemic, so that we begin to turn the tide on heroin and pills, and other addictions that are ruining peoples lives. and going back to the gun discussion, we have got to have more treatment for mental health , we have to figure out how to help more people get the treatment, assuming it is available. [applause] i want thenton: world to be safer, i want the world that you will become an adult in the still be led by the united states, because there is no alternative. the united states, if we don't lead, nobody leads. we have a vacuum. the vacuum is filled by a lot of bad actors, including terrorist groups who will take advantage of their neighbors and eventually even threaten us. and i want to protect our rights, our civil rights, human rights, gay rights, women's rights. i want to protect the rights of americans.