Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign is backing off of the Democratic frontrunner’s recent support for a mandatory gun buyback program modeled on one instituted in Australia following a 1996 mass shooting.
Asked during an interview on MSNBC Monday whether Clinton supports confiscating guns, Clinton’s communications director Jennifer Palmieri said “of course not.”
“What she was referring to is places where there have been mass shootings and the countries have done something to act on it,” Palmieri told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell.
“She has put forward a very common-sense proposal that would have background checks for everyone, that would remove the special protections the gun industry has from liability. But it’s all very common-sense measures the majority of the public supports.”
During a town hall meeting in New Hampshire last week, Clinton said that she thinks it a program like Australia’s is “worth considering.”
“Communities have done that in our country,” Clinton said. “Several communities have done gun buyback programs, but I think it would be worth considering doing it on the national level, if that could be arranged.”
The National Rifle Association and other gun rights supporters jumped on Clinton’s remarks, pointing out that Australia’s gun buyback initiative was actually a gun confiscation program. Owners of a wide variety of guns were forced to sell their firearms to the government. (RELATED: Hillary Says She’d Consider A National Gun Buyback Program Like Australia’s)
Asked if Clinton supports gun buyback programs in general, Palmieri said she does.
“Yes. A number of cities do do that. It’s been effective,” Palmieri said.
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