New Hillary Clinton ad advocates gun control

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton released her first ad targeting gun control on Tuesday, a month after pledging to take on the powerful U.S. gun lobby.

The 30-second spot uses footage from an Oct. 5 town hall in Manchester, New Hampshire, where Clinton said she would pursue expanded background checks and take steps to hold manufacturers accountable for crimes committed with their weapons.

"This epidemic of gun violence knows no boundaries. Between 88 and 92 people a day are killed by guns. We're better than this. We need to close the loopholes and support universal background checks," Clinton says in the clip as members of the audience nod in agreement.

"How many people have to die before we actually act? Before we come together as a nation?"

The ad, titled "Together," will air in the early presidential primary voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire as part of a previously announced purchase, Clinton's campaign said.

Clinton will speak about gun safety at town halls in Iowa later on Tuesday, the campaign said.

The former U.S. senator from New York announced her plan to curb gun violence days after a gunman killed nine people and wounded another nine on the campus of Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon.

She said she wanted to build a national movement to counter the influence of the National Rifle Association, the leading U.S. gun rights advocacy group.

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Amanda Becker; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)