Hillary Clinton To Pennsylvania Hunters: 'We Can't Ignore The 2nd Amendment'

On April 22 Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton spoke to a Pennsylvania audience known for ties to hunting and shooting sports and said, “We can’t ignore the Second Amendment.”

This comes after months of Clinton pushing universal background checks, an expansion of the instant background check system, more oversight on Federal Firearm License holders (FFLs), and a change in laws so that crime victims can sue gun sellers and manufacturers. In October Clinton also suggested the Australia gun ban is “worth looking at” for gun policy in the United States.

But Clinton tried to sound as if she were more amiable toward gun rights while speaking to hunters in Pennsylvania. Fox News reports that she told the audience, “I know how important gun ownership & particularly hunting is here in Northeastern Pennsylvania.” And according to The Hill, Clinton added, “I want you to know that we can’t ignore the Second Amendment and we can’t ignore the 33,000 people a year who die from gun violence. And I think we are smart enough to figure out how to do that.”

Breitbart News previously reported that, in truth, 33,000 people do not die each year from gun violence. In fact, Clinton’s frequent reference to 33,000 deaths exaggerates gun violence numbers by 66 percent.

In reality, the U.S. averages around 30,000 firearm-related deaths a year. Of these, a very small number are accidental and about a third of the 30,000 are actually tied to “gun violence.” For example, the overall number of firearm-related deaths in 2013 was approximately 32,888. Of these, the number of accidental deaths was 505 and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the number of deaths due to actual “gun violence” was 11,208. But when Clinton repeats these numbers, she adds accidental deaths and homicides — which equals 11,713 — then adds the 21,175 firearm-related suicides, rounds the number off at “33,000,” and names “gun violence” as the culprit for all three.

AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.