LAS VEGAS — Hillary Clinton claimed to support the Second Amendment at the final presidential debate but her previous statements and prep from her campaign show that Clinton is staunch supporter of further gun control regulation.
Hillary Clinton & Donald Trump views on gun policy in America (video 1 of 2) #PresidentialDebate #DebateNight pic.twitter.com/VCwDwrDSJN
— Protest Easy Guns (@ProtestEasyGuns) October 20, 2016
“I lived in Arkansas for 18 wonderful years. I represented upstate New York. I understand and respect the tradition of gun ownership that goes back to the founding of our country, but I believe there can be and must be reasonable regulations. Because I support the Second Amendment doesn’t mean that I want people who shouldn’t have guns to be able to threaten you—kill you or members of your family,” she said at the debate.
She later said, “I think we need comprehensive background checks. I think we need to close the online loophole and close the gun show loophole. There’s other matters I think that are important aren’t in any way conflicting with the Second Amendment.”
Clinton previously told George Stephanopoulos, “I think that for most of our history, there was a nuanced reading of the Second Amendment until the decision by the late Justice Scalia and there was no argument until then that localities and states and the federal government had a right, as we do with every amendment, to impose reasonable regulation.”
She explained, “So I believe we can have common sense gun safety measures consistent with the Second Amendment, and, in fact, what I have proposed is supported by 90 percent of the American people and more than 75 percent of responsible gun owners. So that is exactly what I think is constitutionally permissible.”
Additionally, along with praising her running mate Sen. Tim Kaine’s “NRA F rating,” an email posted on Wikileaks this week referenced Clinton’s thoughts on a “gun registry.”
Clinton’s campaign staffer Ron Klain, who helped prep the former Secretary of State for her primary debate in December 2015, suggested the following changes in her debate book:
This is what I think we should do based on tonight’s sessions:
- *How to pay for it* – replace p. 26 ONLY — w removal of carbon > tax, and edits agreed to tonight > >
- *Wall Street* – DO NOT change pages, edits minor and she took > notes > >
- *Health Care* – replace p. 56 ONLY w update on Colorado answer > >
- *Gun Violence –* replace entire section pp 106-111 – add new > attacks from strategy memo; add answer on gun registry > >
- * ISIS:* pull existing pages 130-137 and replace with new > pages, updated with “new” HRC plan to fight ISIS abroad and at home, and > with post-SanB frame. This is the most important update. > >
- *Islamic Terrorism*: replace page 141 with update > >
- *Terrorism – Safer today*?: replace p. 142 w update > >
- *Refugees* – replace page 143 w pivot to action on visa waiver > program > > > >
Let me know if I am missing something or if others took away a different > understanding.