U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren visited Columbia College on Wednesday, Jan. 23 for an organizing event. She was one of many politicians to visit the Palmetto state recently. Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Cory Booker and Sen. Kamala Harris all made their way to South Carolina last week.
Warren’s visit was an exploratory meeting. She has not officially announced her bid for the presidency in 2020. The meeting included a question and answer forum, where audience members asked Warren questions about her stances on gun safety, education and the state of the Democratic Party.
Warren advocated for basic gun safety, a claim that was shadowed by the recent Florida bank shooting in which five people were killed.
“No child should be afraid to go to school. It’s the mass shootings, but it’s the shootings that happen every day. It’s the shootings that happen on neighborhoods and on streets, all around this country every day. On average, eight of our children and teenagers are dying every day from gun violence,” Warren said.
She condemned the National Rifle Association’s involvement with Congress.
“The time when the National Rifle Association holds our Congress hostage must end. Basic gun safety. Let’s do the thing that most Americans, including most gun owners, want to see us do: reasonable background checks,” Warren said.
“No fly, no buy. If you’re on the terrorist watchlist, you shouldn’t be able to buy a gun. It should not be harder to vote in America than it is to buy a gun,” Warren said.
Warren also spoke about a bill that would close “the revolving door between Washington and Wall Street.”
“My deal is, if you want to work for the American public, come work for the American public. You don’t get to do this running through the revolving door. Lobbyists shouldn’t be hired in our government. You shouldn’t, as President of the United States, be able to run a business on the side. If you’re in public service or you’re on the private side, nobody in America should be guessing who you actually work for,” Warren said.
Warren offered her support for public education, pre-k for all and helping college students struggling with student loans.
“What I care about is that every kid gets that chance. To me, our government should reflect our values. And our best value is the one that says everybody gets a chance, a fighting chance at this life,” Warren said.
She criticized Republicans for passing a tax bill that benefited the wealthiest Americans.
“[They gave] money that could have been used to kids that are getting crushed by student loan debt. Money that could have been used to build some affordable housing for seniors, for people with disabilities, for working families who could us a little relief. Money that could be used in our education system, pre-k for everybody, money that could have been used to build a future,” Warren said.
Warren called for an end to the longest government shutdown in history. She said compromise and negotiations between democrats and republicans is necessary for change.
“Open the government. If we want have then a negotiation about comprehensive immigration reform, a negotiation about border security, let’s have that conversation. We can have those negotiations over any issue, no matter how hard. But not by making federal workers pawns. We will not do that,” Warren said.
Warren said her goal is to change America, and she is planning to do so through working hard and refusing money from lobbyists and political action committees.
“I don’t take PAC money, I don’t take lobbyist money, We’re going to do this face to face, person to person, volunteers, organizing. We’re going to build a movement because this is our moment in history. This is the moment to dream big, to fight hard and to change America,” Warren said.
