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Trump agreed, lamenting that "a lot of people even within my own party" oppose the limitation.

"We have to look very strongly at no-fly lists and watch lists," he said. "I tend to agree with that quite strongly."

The position runs counter to Republican leaders in Congress, who say the limitation would trample the Constitution because those placed erroneously on the watch lists would be denied their Second Amendment rights to buy guns.

The legislation is opposed by the National Rifle Association, the nation's largest gun lobby, which has endorsed Trump — a dynamic the GOP nominee emphasized during the debate.

"I have the endorsement of the NRA, which I'm very proud of," he said. "These are very, very good people, and they're protecting the Second Amendment."

But Trump also emphasized that those placed mistakenly on the FBI's watch lists would have access to an appeals process — a key talking point of supporters of the bill.

"When people are on there, even if they shouldn't be on there, we'll help them, we'll help them legally, we'll help them get off," Trump said.

Sponsored by Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y), the legislation empowers the Justice Department to block the sale of firearms indefinitely if the agency "has a reasonable belief" the buyer "may use a firearm in connection with terrorism."

President Obama has pushed hard for Congress to take up the bill, and his Democratic allies on Capitol Hill have made it a central issue in this year's elections.

In June, House Democrats commandeered the chamber floor demanding a vote on the "no fly, no buy" bill, as well as legislation expanding background checks. Their protest was in response to a massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla. — the largest mass shooting in the nation's history, conducted by a sole gunman claiming allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

GOP leaders refused those calls to bring new gun reforms to the floor. But Clinton made clear Monday that it's an issue she intends to push heading into November's election.

"We finally need to pass a prohibition on anyone who's on the terrorist watch list from being able to buy a gun in our country. If you're too dangerous to fly, you are too dangerous to buy a gun," she said during the debate. "So there are things we can do, and we ought to do it in a bipartisan way."