had already increased adoptions out of foster care by 65%. before i even left office. [applause] mr. clinton: she had not been elected to anything. when she started to run in new york, she came home with ideas every day. after she got elected, she got these farmers on long island involved in doing things to preserve the farms there with the real estate was pretty high. and pretty soon there were several of them in iowa knocking on doors saying, i am a republican but she is the only person who ever did anything for us. wine growers in upstate new york selling their wine in restaurants for the first time. a guy making fishing rods in a little town in upstate new york introduced to e-commerce and quadrupled his business and all his new customers were in norway. it never even occurred to him.

she just makes things happen. just put her somewhere, and two or three days later, something good will be going on. [applause] [laughter] mr. clinton: she left office and came to work in our foundation and all of a sudden we had a project called no ceilings that pointed out all the places where gender disparity still existed. another project called too small to fail the let parents know what they could do putting their children whether or not they had any money before they went to school. she just makes things happen. we need a change maker. i spent a lot of time when i was president obsessing about restoring broad-based prosperity. somebody asked me what i celebrated the 10th anniversary of my library was most proud of.

i said i am most proud of broad-based prosperity. we had 40% or 50% more jobs than were created when president reagan was in office. that is the only time trickle down economics ever looked like it was working. we cut taxes and increased spending so dramatically at the same time. incomes dropped for everybody during the two bush administrations. but we had 100 times as many people move from poverty into the middle class. they worked their way there. anad we can do that again. the people in the middle earn 50% more. the just below the middle more than twice as big an increase. and the bottom increase for the

bottom 20% 7/10 of 1% what president reagan was in office 23% when i was there. [applause] mr. clinton: the rest did just fine. the rest did just fine. forget about that, i am telling you we can do this. there is no country better position to that the united states for the future. we can do it. but you have to have somebody who makes good things happen. we can also navigate this very uncertain and often perilous world, without blowing it up or blowing our values up. you have to have somebody who knows how to stop big, bad things from happening, and make good things happen. in my adult lifetime, there has never been anyone better him prepared for the job that awaits the next president, than hillary. never.

[applause] o -- and she and s is pretty much still the same girl i fell in love with in law school. she really is. and that is why she is still really close friends with her best friend from grade school. and why all of these people she went to high school with are coming to new hampshire or iowa, and why people she met more than 30 years in arkansas keep coming to new hampshire every time she is on the ballot. there are candidates, and then then there are candidates. [laughter] mr. clinton: there are records, and then there are records. all i can tell you is, in our family, here is how we keep

score. i think coming together, or are things coming together you have ? one choice, and i hope you will help her win in new hampshire. thank you. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> now we'll take you live to ♪

born to followeren't we got to hold on believewe follown't born to you have to stand up for what we believe yeah, yeah, yeah yeah this one is about this ain't about the fantasy this is about giving up yeah, yeah, yeah

we weren't born to follow your knees. we got to hold on believewe follown't born to you have to stand up for what you believe. yeah, yeah, oh, yeah let me hear you say yeah, yeah, yeah oh, yeah ♪ [guitar >> ♪ we weren't born

to follow come on out get up off your knees we got to hold on to what we believe follown't born to you have to stand up what you believe yeah, yeah, yeah oh, yeah then me hear you yeah ♪eah, >> today on c-span. live with your phone calls, tweets, and facebook comments on "washington journal." a bill that would repeal parts

of the affordable care act. here is a look at some of our feature programs this weekend on c-span3. the last state of the union speech from president obama. this saturday and sunday, we will feature four state of the union speeches. on saturday it is president jimmy carter. on sunday, george w. bush followed by bill clinton. saturday morning, a playwright and star accepts the george washington book prize special achievement award. we look back to the 1984 presidential campaign and a debate in iowa. >> he has to have the trust and

confidence of the american people. private promises for the american people and it has to be for all of our people. >> for our complete weekend schedule, go to www.c-span.org. >> president obama outline new actions at reducing gun lines requiring more gun sellers to have background checks, increasing funding for mental health, and making it easier for doctors to report mental illness. by president was introduced the father of a child killed at sandy hook elementary school in 2012. this is 45 minutes.

>> on the morning of friday, december 14, 2012, my sweet little boy, my son, daniel, was among 20 1st graders and six brave educators that were shot to death at sandy hook elementary school in newtown, connecticut. in the three years since those 26 precious lives were lost at that school, far too many more lives have been lost to gun tragedies in this country. far too many people right now who are hearing these words are

grieving the loss of a loved one to gun violence. as a nation, we have to do better. we are better. we are better than this. in april of 2013, i had the honor of introducing president obama in the rose garden. unfortunately, that was to announce that a bill that had been proposed to close the loophole in the federal background check system for firearm sales had been blocked. by members of congress. some members of congress. but president obama delivered an address that day that was palpably charged with genuine passion and commitment. the president made a promise to not give up. i remember standing there with my family and vice president biden, listening to our

president speak. and our feelings of despair were replaced with feelings of hope. and i remember thinking, who will help them with this? it is a tall order. so since then, i've come to know and respect and learn from many amazing individuals and organizations that are doing good, smart work in this space and many of you are here right now. many of the folks in the gun violence prevention coalition including sandy hook promise have had numerous meetings with vice president biden and president obama and their top advisers to address this issue. but we cannot do it alone. the president cannot do it alone. every gun-related death is preventable. and we need your help.

we need everybody engaged in this. president obama made a promise as an elected official and a promise as a father that he would do everything in his power to protect our nation's children, to make our communities safer, and curb the loss of life to gun violence in america. today, we celebrate another example of how president obama and vice president biden continue to keep that promise. it is with such great honor that i introduce to you the president of the united states, barack obama, and vice president joe biden. [applause] [cheers] president obama: thank you.

thank you, everybody. thank you. [cheers] president obama: thank you. thank you, everybody. please have a seat. thank you so much. mark, i want to thank you for your introduction.

i still remember the first time we met and the time we spent together. and the conversation we had about daniel. and that changed me that day. my hope, earnestly, has been that it would change the country. five years ago this week, a sitting member of congress and 18 others were shot at at a supermarket in tucson, arizona. it wasn't the first time i'd had to talk to the nation in response to a mass shooting, nor would it be the last. fort hood, binghamton, aurora, oak creek, newtown, the navy

yard, santa barbara, charleston, san bernardino. too many. >> too many. pres. obama: thanks to a great medical team and the love of her husband, mark, my dear friend and colleague, gabby giffords, survived. she is here with us today. [applause] pres. obama: with their wonderful mom. president obama: thanks to a great medical team, her wonderful husband, mark, who by the way the last time i met with

mark, as a small aside, you might know mark's twin brother is in outer space. he came to the office and i said, how often are you talking to him? he said, i usually talk to him every day but the call was coming in right before the meeting so i think i may have not answered his call. which made me feel kind of bad. [laughter] president obama: that's a long distance call. [laughter] president obama: so i told him if his brother, scott, is calling today, he should take it. [laughter] president obama: turn the ringer on. i was there with gabby when she was still in the hospital. and we didn't think at that point that she was going to survive.

and that visit, right before memorial. about an hour later, gabby first opened her eyes. i remember talking about that. but i know the pain that she and her family have endured these past five years. and the rehabilitation, the work, and the effort to recover from shattering injuries. and then i think of all the americans who are not as fortunate. every single year, more than 30,000 americans have their lives cut short by guns. 30,000.

suicides, domestic violence, gang shootouts, accidents, hundreds of thousands of americans have lost brothers and sisters. or buried their own children. many have had to learn to live with a disability. or learn to live without the love of their life. a number of those people are here today. they can tell you some stories. in this room, right here, there are a lot of stories. there's a lot of heartache. there's a lot of resilience and a lot of strength, but there's also a lot of pain.

and this is just a small sample. the united states of america is not the only country on earth with violent or dangerous people. we are not inherently more prone to violence. but we are the only advanced country on earth that sees this kind of mass violence erupt with this kind of frequency. it does not happen in other advanced countries. it's not even close. and as i've said before, somehow we have become numb to it and start thinking this is normal.

and instead of thinking about how to solve the problem, this has become one of our most polarized partisan debates. despite the fact that there is a general consensus in america about what needs to be done. that's part of why on thursday i will hold a town hall meeting in virginia on gun violence. because my goal here is to bring good people on both sides of this issue together for an open discussion. i am not on the ballot again. i am not looking to score some points. i think we can disagree without impugning other people's motives or without being disagreeable. we do not need to be talking past one another, but we do need a sense of urgency about it.

in dr. king's words, the fear of urgency is now. -- we need to feel the urgency is now. because people are dying. the constant excuses for inaction no longer do. no longer suffice. that's why we are here today. not to debate the last mass shooting, but to do something to try to prevent the next one. [applause] president obama: to prove that the vast majority of americans, even if our voices aren't the

loudest and most extreme, care enough about a little boy like daniel to come together and take common sense steps to save lives and protect more of our children. i want to be absolutely clear. i have said this over and over again. this also becomes routine. there is a ritual about this whole thing that i have to do. i believe in the second amendment. it is there, written on the paper. it guarantees a right to bear arms. no matter how many times people try to twist my words around, i taught constitutional law, i know a bit about the amendments. i get it.

[applause] president obama: but i also believe we can find ways to reduce gun violence consistent with the second amendment. we all believe in the first amendment. the guarantee of free speech. but we accept that you cannot yell "fire" in a theater. we understand there are some constraints on our freedom in order to protect innocent people. we cherish our right to privacy, but we accept that you have to go through metal detectors before being allowed to board a plane. it's not because people like doing that. but we understand that is part of the price of living in a civilized society.

what's often ignored in this debate is that the majority of gun owners actually agree. a majority of gun owners agree that we can respect the second amendment while keeping an irresponsible, lawbreaking feud from inflicting harm on a massive scale. today, background checks are required at gun stores. if a father wants to teach his daughter how to hunt, he can walk into a gun store, get a background check, and purchase his weapon safely and responsibly. this is not seen as an infringement on the second amendment. contrary to the claims of what some gun rights proponents suggested, this has not been the first step in some slippery slope to mass confiscation. contrary to claims of some

presidential candidates, apparently before this meeting, this is not a plot to take away everybody's guns. you pass a background check, you purchase a firearm. the problem is, some gun sellers have been operating under a different set of rules. a violent felon can buy the exact same weapon over the internet with no background check, no questions asked. a recent study found that one in 30 people looking to buy guns on one website had criminal records. one out of 30 had criminal records. we are talking about individuals convicted of serious crimes like robbery, illegal gun position and violent assault. people with lengthy criminal history buying weapons. this was just one website within the span of a few months.

so we have created a system in which dangerous people are allowed to play by a different set of rules than a responsible gun owner who buys his or her gun the right way and subjects himself to a background check. that does not make sense. everybody should have to abide by the same rules. most americans and gun owners agree. that's what we try to change three years ago after 26 americans including 20 children were murdered at sandy hook elementary. two united states senators, joe manchin, a democrat from west virginia, and republicans in west virginia, all defenders of the second amendment, with eight "a" grades from the nra,

that's hard to get. they worked together in good faith, consulting with folks like our vice president who has been a champion on this for a long time. to write a common sense compromise bill that would have required virtually everyone who buys a gun to get a background check. pretty common sense stuff. 90% of americans supported that idea. 90% of democrats in the senate voted for that idea. but it failed, because 90% of republicans in the senate voted against that idea. how did this become such a partisan issue? republican president george w. bush once said, "i believe in background checks at gun shows or anywhere to make sure guns don't get into the hands of people that should not have them." senator john mccain introduced a

bipartisan measure to close the gun show loophole, saying we need this because criminals and terrorists have exploited and are exploiting this loophole in our gun safety laws. even the nra used to support the expanded background checks. by the way, most of its members still do. most republican voters still do. how did we get here? how did we get to the place where people think requiring a comprehensive background check means taking away people's guns? each time this comes up, we are fed the excuse that commonsense reforms like background checks might have not stopped the last massacre or the one before that. so why bother trying? i reject that thinking.

[applause] pres. obama: we know we cannot stop every act of violence and evil in the world. but maybe we could try to stop one act? some of you may recall at the same time that sandy hook happened, a disturbed person in china took a knife and tried to kill a bunch of children in china. but most of them survived. he did not have access to a powerful weapon. we maybe cannot save everybody, but we can save some.

just as we do not repent all traffic accidents that we take steps to try to reduce traffic accidents. -- as ronald reagan once said, if we could stop one traffic accident, it would be well worth it to make it the law of the land. unfortunately, too many senators failed theirs. [applause] obama: in fact, we know background checks make a difference.

check lawckground passed there, done deaths decreased by 40%. 40%. meanwhile, since missouri repealed a law, done deaths have increased to an almost 50% higher than national average. one study found, unsurprisingly, that terminals in missouri now have easier access to guns. the evidence tells us that in states that require background checks, citizens do not find it any harder than before. their guns have not been confiscated. their rights have not then infringed. and that is just the information we have access to. with more research, we could increase safety.

we do research when cars, food, medicine, even toys, harm people said that we make them safer. and you know what? research, science, those are good things. they were. they do. [applause] obama: but think about this, when it comes to an inherently deadly weapon. nobody argues that guns are thattially deadly, weapons kill tens of thousands of americans every year, congress actually voted to make it harder for public health experts to conduct research into gun violence. made it harder to collect data and back. strategies to reduce gun violence. even after san bernardino, they

refused to make it harder for terror suspects, who can't get on a plane, to buy semiautomatic weapons. that's not right. [laughter] pres. obama: that can't be right. so the gun lobby may be holding congress hostage right now but they can't hold america hostage. we can't accept that carnage is a price of freedom. [applause]

pres. obama: now, i want to be clear, congress still needs to act. the folks in this room will not rest until congress does. [applause] pres. obama: because once congress gets onboard with commonsense gun safety measures, we can reduce gun violence a whole lot more. but we also can't wait. until we have a congress that's in line with the majority of americans, there are actions within my legal authority that we can take to help reduce gun violence and save more lives, actions that protect our rights and our kids. after sandy hook, joe and i worked together with our teams

and we put forward a whole series of executive actions to try to tighten up the existing rules and systems that we had in place. but today we want to take it a step further. so let me outline what we're going to be doing. number one, anybody in the business of selling firearms must get a license and conduct background checks or be subject to criminal prosecutions. [applause] pres. obama: it doesn't matter whether you're doing it over the internet or the gun show, it's not where you do it but what you do. we're also expanding background checks to cover violent criminals who try to buy some of the most dangerous firearms by

hiding behind trusts and corporations and various cutouts. we're also taking steps to make the background check system more efficient. under the guidance of jim comey and the f.b.i. and our deputy director, tom brandon, a.t.f., we're going to hire more folks to process applications faster and we're going to bring an outdated background checks system into the 21st century. [applause] pres. obama: and these steps will actually lead to a smoother process for law-abiding gun owners, a smoother process for responsible gun dealers, a stronger process for protecting the people from the -- public from dangerous people. so that's number one. number two, we're going to do everything we can to ensure the

smart and effective enforcement of gun safety laws that are already on the books, which means we're going to add 200 more a.t.f. agents and investigators. we're going to require firearms dealers to report more lost or stolen guns on a timely basis. we're working with advocates to protect victims of domestic abuse from gun violence where too often -- [applause] pres. obama: where too often people are not getting the protection they need. number three, we'll do more to help those suffering from mental illness to get the help that they need. [applause] pres. obama: so high profile

mass shootings tend to shine a light on those few mentally unstable people who inflict harm on others but the truth is nearly two in three gun deaths are from suicides. so a lot of our work is to prevent people from hurting themselves. that's why we made sure that affordable care act, also known as obamacare -- [laughter] pres. obama: finally -- [applause] pres. obama: under that law, made sure that treatment for mental health was covered the same as treatment for any other illness. that's why we're going to invest $500 million to expand access to treatment across the country. [applause] pres. obama: it's also why we're going to ensure that federal mental health records are submitted to the background check system and remove barriers that prevent states from reporting relevant information. if we can continue to destigmatize mental health issues, get folks proper care and fill gaps in the background check system, then we can spare more families the pain of losing a loved one to suicide.

and for those in congress who so often rush to blame mental illness for mass shootings as a way of avoiding action on guns, here's your chance to support these efforts, put your money where your mouth is. [applause] pres. obama: number four, we're going to boost gun safety technology. today many gun injuries and deaths are the result of legal guns that were stolen or misused or discharged accidentally. in 2013 alone, more than 500 people lost their lives to gun accidents and that includes 30 children younger than 5 years old. the greatest, most technologically advanced nation on earth, there is no reason for this. we need to develop new technologies that make guns safer. if we can set it up you can't unlock your phone unless you

have the right fingerprint, why can't we do the same thing for our guns? [applause] pres. obama: if there's an app that can help us find a missing tablet, which happens to me often -- [laughter] pres. obama: the older i get -- [laughter] pres. obama: if we can do it for your ipad, there's no reason we can't do it for a stolen gun. if a child can't open a bottle of aspirin, we should make sure they can't pull a trigger on a gun. [applause] pres. obama: all right? so we're going to advance research, we're going to work with the private sector to update firearms technology.

some gun retailers are already stepping up by refusing to finalize a purchase without a complete background check or by refraining from selling semiautomatic weapons or high capacity magazines. and i hope that more retailers and more manufacturers join them. because they should care as much as anybody about a product that now kills almost as many americans as car accidents. i make this point because none of us can do this alone. i think mark made that point earlier. all of us should be able to work together to find a balance that declares the rest of our rights are also important. second amendment rights are important. there are other rights that we care about as well. and we have to be able to balance them.

because our right to worship freely and safely, that right was denied to christians in charleston, south carolina, and that was denied jews in kansas city and that was denied muslims in chapel hill and sikhs in oak creek. they had rights, too. [applause] pres. obama: our right to peaceful assembly, that right was robbed from moviegoers in aurora and lafayette. our inalienable right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness, those rights were stripped from college kids in blacksburg and santa barbara and from high schoolers at columbine.

and from first graders in newtown. first graders. and from every family who never imagined that their loved one would be taken from our lives by a bullet from a gun. every time i think about those kids it gets me mad. and by the way, it happens on the streets of chicago every day. [applause]

pres. obama: so all of us need to demand that congress be brave enough to stand up to the gun lobby's lies. all of us need to stand up and protect its citizens. all of us need to demand governors and legislators and businesses do their part to make our communities safer. we need the wide majority of responsible gun owners who grieve with us every time this happens and feel like your views are not being properly represented to join with us to demand something better. [applause] pres. obama: and we need voters who want safer gun laws and who are disappointed in leaders who stand in their way to remember come election time. [applause]

pres. obama: i mean, some of this is just simple math. yes, the gun lobby is loud and it's organized in defense of making it effortless for guns to be available for anybody anytime. well, you know what, the rest of us, we all have to be just as passionate. we all have to be organized in the defense of our kids. this is not that complicated. the reason congress blocks laws is because they want to win elections. if you make it hard for them to win an election if they block those laws they'll change course, i promise you. [applause]

pres. obama: and, yes, it will be hard. and it won't happen overnight. it won't happen during this congress. it won't happen during my presidency. but a lot of things don't happen overnight. a woman's right to vote didn't happen overnight. liberation of african-americans didn't happen overnight. lgbt rights, decades worth of work. so just because it's hard, that's no excuse not to try. if you have any doubt as to why you should feel that fierce urgency now, think about what happened three weeks ago.

zaevion dobson was a sophomore at fulton high school in knoxville, tennessee. he played football. beloved by his classmates and his teachers. his own mayor called him one of their city's success stories. the week before christmas he headed to a friend's house to play video games. he wasn't in the wrong place at the wrong time. he hadn't made a bad decision. he was exactly where any other kid would be. your kid. my kids. and then gunmen started firing.

and zaevion, who was in high school, hadn't even gotten started in life, dove on top of three girls to shield them from the bullets. and he was shot in the head. and the girls were spared. he gave his life to save theirs. an act of heroism a lot bigger than anything we should ever expect from a 15-year-old. greater love hath no man that this that a man lay down his life for his friends. we are not asked to do what zaevion dobson did. we're not asked to have shoulders that big, heart that strong, reactions that quick. i'm not asking people to have that same level of courage or sacrifice or love. but if we love our kids and care about their prospects and if we

love this country and care about its future, then we can find the courage to vote, we can find the courage to get mobilized and organized. we can find the courage to cut through all the noise and do what a sensible country would do. that's what we're doing today and tomorrow we should do more and we should do more the day after that. and if we do we'll leave behind a nation that's stronger than the one we inherited and worthy of the sacrifice of a young man like zaevion. thank you very much, everybody. god bless. thank you. [applause] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corporation 2016] [applause]

[applause] [applause] ♪ [applause]

chatter]ct >> joining us to talk about the presidents executive the actions is paul single or. a correspondent from the usa today. paul, what is the reaction from congress? powell: -- singer: the reaction from congress is pretty much as you would anticipate, neatly divided i party. democrats are saying this is

common sense to fight gun violence. republicans are saying it is a continued assault from the president on the second amendment right of americans and congresses right to regulate this. their argument is that obama is overstepping his authority. >> what are the plans for legislation? what are the plans for this year ahead? >> not much. the bill that has been the primary talking point for republicans is a bill on mental health issues. every time one of the shootings comes up over the past six months or so, they have talked about this bill which would expand resources for people in mental health crisis. a lot of democrats think it is a good idea. there is some debate on the margins about what exactly it should do. in fact, there is a provision that would expand the opportunity for court-required treatment of people with severe mental health. of mentaltside institutions. there is some dispute over

whether that is a good idea or not. that is the only gun-control measure that has any traction in the republican congress. there is a question about whether that can get enough bipartisan support to pass. >> and that is a look ahead. what about some of the past legislation. gun makers, gun owners came together to work on legislation. whatever happened to that. : paul: a couple years ago, as the president said in his presentation, after one of these shootings there was a major outcry and effort to broker a deal with a whole bunch of gun provisions in it. stephan straw buyers of guns, people who buy guns for other people. transit of guns across state lines. all that hung on a major compromise on expanded background checks. there was not enough republican support to pass it and so the bill died. that has been the last move for

any kind of broad gun legislation. >> are democrats in line with the president? what also they proposed? paul: the democrats are in line, but there was not a lot -- he is really tinkering on the margins of law. that is why he turned the conversation to appeal to congress to do more. whether it is banning people listed on a terrorist no-fly list from owning a gun. expanding background checks more widely. as nancy pelosi tried to do last year, trying to allow the citizens and controls to do more research on guns. all that stuff congress would have to do. in fact a bunch of stuff the , president announced today a stuff the congress will have to act on. they are still going to have to act on the $500 million he wants

for mental health care assistance. that is stuffing cannot do by himself. congress will have to take this up if we want to get anything done at all. is this working into the candidates, what they are saying? paul: we have seen a lot of comments that obama does not respect your second amendment rights. he is trying to undermine the rights of law-abiding americans. , is of the talk of today that speaker ryan is saying what obama is doing now is bullying law-abiding citizens by these provisions. they stir those following the laws instead of going after actual criminals. >> is that issue resonating with voters? paul: we do not really know. that is the whole question. no one has had to cast a ballot

yet. we know it is a regular theme of the republican primary campaign stops that obama does not respect the constitution, does not respect congressional authority and is not respect your right on everything from immigration to guns. i think the immigration when has been the sort of more active topic on the campaign trail, but it certainly appears the republicans believe it is a successful issue with them with their base. we will see when someone actually has to cast a ballot which has not happened yet. >> paul singer is with usa today. thank you for joining us. paul: thank you. announcer: next, on washington journal, representative bradley earned. of alabama and

congressman donald payne of new jersey. also, david french talks about his national review article entitled rise of isis. >> all of us need to demand a congress brave enough to stand lies.the gun lobby's andof us need to stand up protect the citizens are to all of us need to demand governors and legislators and businesses do their part to make our communities safer. ♪ an emotional president obama yesterday announced his new gun-control efforts in a statement from the east room of the white house. the new executive actions including expanded background checks represent an effort by the administration to take action despite the fact that congre