Hillary Clinton listed the National Rifle Association as one of her top political rivals in Wednesday’s Democratic debate, sounding much different than when she took the debate stage in the 2008 primary.
“It’s time the entire country stood up against the NRA,” Clinton said Wednesday. “Everybody else has to be accountable but not the gun manufacturers, and we need to stand up and say enough of that. We’re not going to let it continue.”
Against then-Sen. Barack Obama in 2008, however, Clinton played up her personal affinity for guns.
During one debate, Clinton appealed to Second Amendment supporters and disagreed with Obama’s stance on gun control.
“I disagree with Sen. Obama’s assertion that people in our country cling to guns and have certain attitudes about trade and immigration simply out of frustration,” she said.
She went on to recall memories from her childhood and spoke fondly of her hunting experiences.
“You know, my dad took me out behind the cottage that my grandfather built on a little lake called Lake Winola outside of Scranton and taught me how to shoot when I was a little girl,” she added.
“Some people now continue to teach their children and their grandchildren. It’s part of culture. It’s part of a way of life. People enjoy hunting and shooting because it’s an important part of who they are. Not because they are bitter,” she concluded.