Hillary Clinton would use executive authority to close gun-show loophole

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will outline specific steps she would take to curb gun violence if elected during scheduled campaign stops in New Hampshire on Monday.

Clinton spoke out forcefully in favour of new gun control measures after a shooting last week on the campus of Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore., which killed nine people and wounded another nine.

In appearances after the shooting, Clinton said she wants to begin a "national movement" to counter the influence of the National Rifle Association, the nation's top gun-rights advocacy group, but she has still to say what specific measures she would take if elected to the White House in November 2016.

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Among the steps that she will outline later on Monday, her campaign said, is the use of presidential executive authority to close a "loophole" to ensure people buying firearms at gun shows and on the Internet undergo the same background checks and pay the same sales tax as when buying from traditional retailers.

Clinton will also push Congress to pass laws that prohibit all domestic abusers, including stalkers, from purchasing guns and to close what she will call the "Charleston loophole," referring to a June shooting at a African American church in Charleston, S.C., that left nine dead.

Currently, if a background check is not completed within three days, a gun sale can proceed. The alleged Charleston shooter was able to purchase his gun because of this loophole, as did 2,500 other people in 2014 who would have otherwise been barred from making such a purchase, Clinton's campaign said.

Clinton will amplify on her recent calls to make the background check system more comprehensive and on her calls to keep "military-style assault weapons" off streets by pledging to repeal a 2005 law that she says gives gun manufacturers and dealers "immunity," her campaign said.

As a U.S. senator representing New York, Clinton voted against legislation that prevents victims of gun violence from holding negligent manufacturers and dealers accountable for crimes committed with their guns. As president, she will seek its repeal, according to her campaign.

Clinton will be discussing her gun control proposals on Monday at two town halls near Manchester, N.H.