Hillary Rodham Clinton says the nation's gun culture has become "way out of balance".
She told a mental health conference near Washington on Tuesday that the US needs to rein in the notion that "anybody can have a gun, anywhere, anytime".
The potential 2016 Democratic presidential candidate says the idea that anyone can have a gun is not in the "best interest of the vast majority of people".
But she says that doesn't conflict with the rights of people to own firearms.
The Democratic-controlled Senate voted against legislation pushed by President Barack Obama last year that would have expanded background checks for firearm purchases to gun shows and online sales.
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The legislation came in the aftermath of the deadly elementary school shootings in Connecticut.
