Hillary Clinton did not list self-defense as a reason to have a gun Monday during a campaign event in Oskaloosa, Iowa, instead listing "collecting," "shooting practice" and "hunting" as valid reasons for owning a gun.
An attendee at Clinton's town hall meeting asked the Democratic presidential candidate what her thoughts on guns were, and he started his question by telling Clinton that people in Iowa love their guns.
Clinton replied that gun ownership was his right and "opportunity" because of the Second Amendment.
"But here's what I want you as a gun owner to understand," Clinton said. "We've got to keep guns out of the hands of people who don't use them for hunting or shooting practice or collecting."
In Clinton's gun control platform, she has called for increased background checks, which she claims would reduce the lethality of domestic violence, reduce unlawful gun transfers to dangerous individuals, and reduce gun trafficking. She has continually supported the Brady Bill.
Towards the end of Clinton's answer, she blamed gun owners for not being responsible with loaded firearms.
"A lot of gun owners are getting lax," she said. "They're leaving loaded guns around. We have toddlers picking up guns. We have eight- and nine-year-olds picking up guns. We're not having the responsible gun owners stand up and say, 'Hey, we can separate our rights from what we need to do to protect people from those who shouldn't have guns in the first place.' That's where I stand and that's what I'd like to see us do."