Bill Clinton: 'A Great Democracy Doesn't Make It Harder To Vote Than To Buy An Assault Weapon'

Clinton: 'A Great Democracy Doesn't Make It Harder To Vote Than To Buy An Assault Weapon'

Former President Bill Clinton spoke Wednesday at the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, where he criticized the Supreme Court's decision to overturn a key section of the Voting Rights Act earlier this year.

"A great democracy does not make it harder to vote than to buy an assault weapon," Clinton said, calling out lawmakers that have been eager to pass laws restricting access to the polls while resisting gun control measures.

Clinton also said that just because minorities, students and the elderly had proven willing to wait through long lines at the polls wasn't a good reason to conclude that protections against discriminatory voting laws were no longer needed.

Here's more on Clinton's speech, from the Associated Press:

For President Bill Clinton, this day 50 years ago in the shadows of the Lincoln Memorial, marks "one of the most important days in American history."

Clinton joined President Barack Obama and the family of Martin Luther King Jr. Wednesday to celebrate King's "I Have a Dream" speech and the March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963.

The "march and that speech changed America," said Clinton, and "opened minds and melted hearts ... and moved millions."

Clinton said racial inequalities remain. But he said it's time to stop complaining and instead get to work — for better education opportunities for all children and implementing health care for all.

He said: "We must push open those stubborn gates" that are holding America back.

Before You Go

The 1963 March On Washington

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