Apollonian
Guest Columnist
Clinton refuses to say owning a gun is a constitutional right
Link: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/c...gun-is-a-constitutional-right/article/2593038
By Gabby Morrongiello (@gabriellahope_) • 6/5/16 11:04 AM
Hillary Clinton declined to say during an interview Sunday whether she believes the right to bear arms is guaranteed by the Constitution.
"Do you believe that an individual's right to bear arms is a constitutional right, that it's not linked to service in a militia?" ABC's George Stephanopoulos asked the Democratic presidential front-runner.
"I think that for most of our history, there was a nuanced reading of the Second Amendment until the decision by the late Justice [Antonin] 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 regulations," Clinton responded.
She added, "So I believe we can have common-sense gun safety measures consistent with the Second Amendment."
Stay abreast of the latest developments from nation's capital and beyond with curated News Alerts from the Washington Examiner news desk and delivered to your inbox.
"But that's not what I asked," Stephanopoulos interjected. "I said, do you believe that their conclusion that an individual's right to bear arms is a constitutional right?"
"If it is a constitutional right, then it, like every other constitutional right, is subject to reasonable regulations, and what people have done with that decision is to take it as far as they possibly can and reject what has been our history from the very beginning of the republic, where some of the earliest laws that were passed were about firearms," Clinton said, declining a second time to answer the question directly.
The former secretary of state suggested gun owners do have a right, but claimed "the rest of the American public has a right to require certain kinds of regulatory, responsible actions to protect everyone else."
Clinton's Republican opponent, Donald Trump, has repeatedly criticized her push for stricter gun control laws in recent weeks. Upon receiving the National Rifle Association's endorsement last month, Trump claimed Clinton "wants to abolish the Second Amendment."