Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

Clinton Refuses to Say Second Amendment Protects Individual Right

Friday, June 10, 2016

Clinton Refuses to Say Second Amendment Protects Individual Right

On ABC’s This Week show last Sunday, Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton twice refused to say whether she believes the Second Amendment protects a fundamental, individual right to keep and bear arms.

Clinton had previously said that she disagrees with the Supreme Court’s “terrible” ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller, but that she doesn’t want to “abolish” the Second Amendment. Apparently seeking to clarify Clinton’s position on the question, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos said to her, “I want to ask you a specific question. 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?”

It was a question Clinton should easily have been able to answer “yes” or “no.” After all, the Supreme Court found it easy to do so in Heller. In that case, the District had argued that an individual had a right to keep and bear arms only when performing duties in the service of a state militia. Four justices agreed. Five justices didn’t, saying instead that the amendment protects an individual right irrespective of a person’s militia status.

Clinton didn’t want to answer the question, though. With her chance at the presidency on the line, Clinton is afraid of telling the voters that she doesn’t want the Second Amendment interpreted as protecting an individual right to keep and bear arms, and that if she were elected president, her nominees to the Supreme Court would vote to overturn Heller and reinterpret the Second Amendment as protecting no individual right whatsoever.

So, Clinton said, “there was no argument until [Heller] that localities and states and the federal government had a right, as we do with every amendment, to impose reasonable regulation.” It was an evasive answer that would satisfied some TV journalists, but unfortunately for Clinton, Stephanopoulos had done his homework. 

He pointed out that Heller didn’t forbid all restrictions on firearms, “but that’s not what I asked.” Stephanopoulos repeated his previous question: “Do you believe that [the court’s] conclusion that an individual’s right to bear arms is a constitutional right?” 

Clinton’s response: “If it’s 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. . . .”

Stephanopoulos could have asked Clinton where the Constitution recognizes any “right” of a government to restrict rights, where anyone has tried to use the Heller decision to expand the right to arms beyond what the Framers of the Bill of Rights envisioned, and whether she would like for a future Supreme Court to overturn Heller’s ruling that the right to arms is unrelated to militia service.

On the other hand, it’s possible that Stephanopoulos realized that no further questions were required. Clinton has made her position on the Second Amendment clear.

TRENDING NOW
Gun Control “Journalist” Says the Quiet Part Out Loud

News  

Monday, September 8, 2025

Gun Control “Journalist” Says the Quiet Part Out Loud

Pure gun control. As in disarmament and banning of firearms. It’s rare that anti-gunners get straight to the exact point that we have been warning of for decades. 

The Desperate Deflection to the “Red State Murder Problem”

News  

Monday, September 8, 2025

The Desperate Deflection to the “Red State Murder Problem”

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) may have thought he had scored against President Donald Trump in a recent war of words over rampant crime and the deployment of federal law enforcement agents to Democratic-led cities

Due Process: The Backbone of Legal Legitimacy

News  

Monday, September 8, 2025

Due Process: The Backbone of Legal Legitimacy

Close observers of the gun debate often see references to due process.

Illinois: Governor Signs Mandatory Firearm Storage Law

Wednesday, September 3, 2025

Illinois: Governor Signs Mandatory Firearm Storage Law

Earlier this month, Governor JB Pritzker signed Senate Bill 8 into law. This legislation imposes new mandatory firearm storage requirements on law-abiding gun owners.  

Third Circuit Strikes Some New Jersey Carry Restrictions in NRA Case

Thursday, September 11, 2025

Third Circuit Strikes Some New Jersey Carry Restrictions in NRA Case

Yesterday, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion in Siegel v. Platkin, striking some of the carry restrictions New Jersey enacted in response to the NRA’s landmark Supreme Court victory, New York State Rifle & ...

Update: North Carolina House Reschedules Veto Override Vote

Tuesday, August 26, 2025

Update: North Carolina House Reschedules Veto Override Vote

Today, the House rescheduled the veto override vote on Senate Bill 50, Freedom to Carry NC, to Monday, September 22. 

Colorado: CSSA Files Suit Challenging "Polis Permission Slip" Permit-to-Purchase Law

Tuesday, September 9, 2025

Colorado: CSSA Files Suit Challenging "Polis Permission Slip" Permit-to-Purchase Law

Last week, the Colorado State Shooting Association (CSSA), the official state affiliate of NRA, filed a lawsuit challenging Senate Bill 25-003...

Florida: Second Amendment Sales Tax Holiday Signed by Governor

Monday, July 7, 2025

Florida: Second Amendment Sales Tax Holiday Signed by Governor

Governor Ron DeSantis recently signed the Florida Budget for Fiscal Year 2025–2026, which includes a Second Amendment sales tax holiday from September 8 through December 31, 2025. The NRA is thankful for Governor DeSantis’ strong ...

Grassroots Spotlight: Oklahoma Rifle Association Annual State Convention

Take Action  

Monday, September 8, 2025

Grassroots Spotlight: Oklahoma Rifle Association Annual State Convention

Each year, the Oklahoma Rifle Association (ORA), the NRA's State Association for Oklahoma, hosts its Annual State Convention in August. 

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging SCOTUS to Hear Challenge to Washington’s Magazine Ban

Monday, September 8, 2025

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging SCOTUS to Hear Challenge to Washington’s Magazine Ban

Today, the National Rifle Association filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to grant certiorari in a case challenging Washington State’s ban on firearm magazines that hold more than 10 rounds.

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.