Hillary: ‘Arming More People to Do What?’ Isn’t Right Response to Terror, GOP Rhetoric Says There’s ‘Clash of Civilizations’

Democratic presidential candidate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton argued that, “Arming more people, to do what? I think is not the appropriate response to terrorism” and the rhetoric of Republicans sends the message “that there is a clash of civilizations” during Saturday’s Democratic presidential debate on ABC.

Hillary said, “I think if you only think about the coalition abroad, you’re missing the main point, which is we need a coalition here at home. Guns in and of themselves, in my opinion, will not make Americans safer. we lose 33,000 people a year already to gun violence. Arming more people, to do what? I think is not the appropriate response to terrorism. I think what is is creating much deeper, closer relations and, yes, coalitions within our own country. The first line of defense against radicalization is in Muslim-American community, people who we should be welcoming and working with. I worry greatly that the rhetoric coming from the Republicans, particularly Donald Trump, is sending a message to Muslims here in the United States, and literally around the world that there is a clash of civilizations, that there is some kind of Western plot, or even war against Islam, which then I believe, fans the flames of radicalization. So guns have to be looked at as its own problem, but we also have to figure out how we’re going to deal with the radicalization here in the United States.”

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