Hillary Clinton Speaks To Trayvon Martin Foundation, Talks Gun Control
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FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – Addressing a room full of parents who've lost children to gun violence, Hillary Clinton paid tribute to those mothers and families and pledged her support to supporting gun background checks, confronting racial inequality and defeating Donald Trump.
Clinton spoke Saturday night at the Circle of Mothers event supporting the Trayvon Martin Foundation. The event was held at the Embassy Suites in Fort Lauderdale.
"I believe we have a moral obligation to protect our children no matter what zip code they live in," Clinton told the crowd, which included mothers of people killed in high-profile shooting cases across the country including Eric Garner, Jordan Davis, a victim from Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT and Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin.
Speaking just a few feet from a table full of photos of victims, Clinton said polls show there is broad bipartisan support for background checks on prospective gun owners.
"This is a matter of getting elected officials to do their jobs to keep people safe," Clinton said.
Clinton also said racial inequality and a disproportionate amount of young African-Americans being imprisoned are issues she would address as president. Her speech came just one day after Republican front runner Donald Trump earned an endorsement from the National Rifle Association and took a swipe at Clinton's stance on guns.
"Crooked Hillary Clinton is the most anti-gun, anti-Second Amendment candidate ever to run for office," Trump told the crowd.
Clinton responded on Saturday, saying Trump is trying to sow division and that he wants to allow guns in school classrooms.
"Parents, teachers and schools should have the right to keep guns out of classrooms just like Donald Trump does at many of his hotels, by the way," she told the crowd.
Clinton said these issues matter to her as a mother and grandmother and she promised to listen and find solutions for those who have suffered the ultimate tragedy due to firearms.
"We must do something about the gun violence that stalks communities and terrorizes families," she said.
Clinton promised that she would continue to speak about these issues and said it's not her intention to take away anyone's guns rather to enforce common sense gun laws.
As for the event, it's believed the fundraiser tonight raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Trayvon Martin Foundation events in the future.