"We can't be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans..."
by:
Bill Clinton
[William Jefferson Blythe III] (1946- ), 42nd US President
Source:
March 1, 1993, during a press conference in Piscataway , NJ.
USA Today, March 11, 1993, "NRA change: `Omnipotent to powerful' "
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Reader comments about this quote:
This demonstrates Clinton's disdain for the American people. Government's job is to preserve our rights, unlike the unpatriotic Patriot Act, which only removes our rights.
 -- Joel, Rochester, MI     
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    A most excellent quote demonstrating the absolute need for all law-abiding Americans to own firearms. And these firearms should be as powerful as any owned by the armed forces, to provide an adequate counterbalance to tyranny in government, the tendency of men like Clinton to disdain our rights.
     -- David L. Rosenthal, Hollywood, Florida     
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    To be fair in making a judgement call, one must know the circumstance of why the statement was made. It was not made out of thin air. What was the background for this remark. Your disdain for Clinton is obvious. I have disdain for all of them, but let us justify why we think the way we do. You can not have a democratic gov't control by a plutocracy back up a theocracy. This my reason. I need to know your reason.
     -- farley moxley, moxleyfar@aol.com     
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    Right on Mr. Rosenthel!
     -- P.M.     
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    Consider the source, the fellow who tried to ban satire and parody on candidates during elections. Jay Leno was one thing, but Bush Jr. and Clinton on Freedom? Hah!
     -- Gölök Z.L.F [M(-)V D] Buday, Vancouver, GVRD(Paine County), BC(SU), US of Eh! (US of A).     
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    "If the personal freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution inhibit the government's ability to govern the people, we should look to limit those guarantees." -- President Bill Clinton, August 12, 1993 "the purpose of government is to reign in the rights of the people" -- Bill Clinton during an interview on MTV in 1993 It seems Clinocchio has a habit of letting his true thoughts slip out.
     -- Ken, Allyn, WA     
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    SO ... the context of this textual excision is ... what? I mean, was he quoting someone else or was this in the context of some larger issue. It can't have been just on its own without any context whatsoever.
     -- Terry Berg, Occidental, CA     
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    True words from a true traitor - he sold out the country to the Red Chinese. Even gave them a beach-head (San Diego naval base) from which to carry out their subversion, infiltration, and ultimate conquest of America.
     -- Jodopo, Michigan     
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    I think someone should post the damn full text of what Mr. Clinton said, so this can be taken in FULL CONTEXT! Most quotes can be twisted out of context (hey look at what most of the bozos on talk radio do!) if not left with their accompanying thoughts. IMHO, all politicians should be dis-trusted: if their lips are moving, their LYING! Even our founding fathers were known to betray us in a pinch: http://www.interventionmag.com/cms/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1100
     -- Ian Hopper, Novato, CA     
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    Just for Ian (ok, not really - LOL Mainly for myself if truth be told.): I finally took the time to locate the (or at least ONE) source of the ABBREVIATION of this quote - the NRA-ILA. The FULL quote can be found at the bottom of the page on | http://www.clintonfoundation.org/legacy/030193-remarks-by-president-with-national-service-vols.htm | I personally fully support the guarantees provided by the second amendment. (Now, perhaps just the 'supposed guarantees'.) Here's the source I found (linked to the NRA whose general aims, BTW, I find laudable and a real service to counterbalance the usual inclinations of an overbearing government): ('Clinton') Claiming people "can't be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans to legitimately own handguns and rifles," President Bill Clinton championed the federal "assault weapon" (AW) and "large" ammunition magazine ban, and signed it into law on Sept. 13, 1994. The ban prohibits a law-abiding citizen from possessing an AW or "large" magazine manufactured after that date. Limited to 10 years, the ban expires on Sept. 13, 2004. It should not be extended and drastically expanded, as some bills propose. In fact, it should never have been imposed. - http://www.clintongunban.com/FactSheets.aspx?i=158&a=Fact%20Sheet || "The most perfidious way of harming a cause consists of defending it deliberately with faulty arguments." -- Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15, 1844 - August 25, 1900)
     -- Terry Berg, Occidental, CA     
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    Yes, "ordinary Americans" cannot be trusted, but the class of 'extraordinary' Americans know best... elitism at its worst.
     -- E Archer, NYC     
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     -- Mike, Norwalk      
    I thought Democrats were supposed to be the ones standing up for "ordinary" Americans. Yeah right, what a joke. If you believe that, I've got some prime wetlands I want to sell you.
     -- Mike, Mount Holly, NC     
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    Democracy is not freedom, it is tyranny. It is dictatorship legitimize by a vote. The more democratic we become the less free we are. Who can possibly believe that democrats in general or the Clinton's in particular have any real interest in freedom for the average American. The just want a dependant class of bought voters.
     -- helorat, Milton     
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    This quote is grossly taken out of context, to such an extent as to be down right dishonest. I am personally shocked by the implications for this entire collection of quotes and how compromised they become by association to this out of context quote!
     -- Anonymous, Reston, VA US     
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    The reference of the quote has been provided for those that wish to read the transcript. There is no question this is what Clinton said in relation to 'rights' protected by the Constitution, and he said it more than once in 1993 during his MTV interviews with kids. Don't kill the messenger for providing a true quote with reference. For those crying foul for taking a quote out of context, I would like to ask in which context COULD this quote ever be taken literally?
     -- Editor, Liberty Quotes     
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    Per the editor: of course it cannot be taken literally.
     -- EGL, LA     
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    Out or context would infer that something said was not what a third party used it for or how it was defined later (for example: Jefferson's establishment reference to the Danbury Baptist Association of Connecticut). AfR, where did any of the Clintons ever talk about expanding those inalienable rights endowed by the God of Nature (using the original constitutional principles and language as a foundation)? - never. Forced charity, ID, or insurance are not inalienable rights.
     -- Mike, Norwalk     
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    This abbreviated quote is WHOLLY DISHONEST. Where is the rest of the sentence? Where else are quotes with elipses (...) used on this site? Why not print the whole sentence? This really brings the accuracy of the rest of these quotes into question. If you want to hit Clinton, I would think you would have plenty of ammo to do it without being dishonest about it. And for Mike, "out of context" means that a piece of a phrase or quote has had part of the surrounding explanation stripped away so as to twist or even refract the original intended meaning. That appears to be what's happened here. Why else cut off the quote mid-sentence? And the words of the Constitution NEVER mentions God. Nor does the Constitution mention Jesus, Christianity, Moses, or Mohammed. You've apparently confused the Constitution with the Declaration of Independence which does state, "the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God." Interesting how this sole reference to God puts God in the possession of Nature and not the other way around. But this isn't surprising when you realize that Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, and many other of our Founding Fathers were Deists, and this follows along with that and their viewpoint. Here's a link to the Declaration. Enjoy. http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/declaration_transcript.html
     -- iLarynx, Freehome     
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     -- jim, torrance, calif      
     -- Anonymous      
     -- Anonymous      
    FULL QUOTE, "We can't be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans to legitimately own handguns and rifles."
     -- DANIELLE, PETERSBURG     
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    I think Mr. Clinton should never be quoted regarding INTEGRITY.
     -- Ben, Burnaby     
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     -- Bryan Morton, Stuart, FL      
     -- Anonymous      
    These are the people allegedly voted into power. The ballot counting machines mysteriously have issues each election year; we keep using them. The Council on Foreign Relations has been stacking the deck with candidates like Clinton for decades now. The media has blinded the majority of Americans through ridicule of those who shine light on this conspiracy by labelling the whistle blowers as having some kind of mental problem; one that makes them uncredible. That is why these scum can get away with anti-Americanism in their own country because their countrymen are generally comfortable in their delusions and deception.
     -- Tom Lafayette, Middletown     
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     -- AJ      
    Perfect example of the power hungry fool.
     -- Jim     
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    DANIELLE, PETERSBURG is a liar. Although she wrote "Full Quote," she offers anything but. Here is a helpful hint: You can trust someone who says "Clinton said this;" or you can trust someone who says "Clinton said this, I saw it on MTV;" or, you can trust someone who provides a damn verifiable source. Gullible saps. Here is the full quote:
    "I think -- you know, we can't be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans to legitimately own handguns and rifles -- it's something I strongly support -- we can't be so fixated on that that we are unable to think about the reality of life that millions of Americans face on streets that are unsafe, under conditions that no other nation -- no other nations -- has permitted to exist. "
    And your source: http://web.archive.org/web/20060721035453/ http://www.clintonfoundation.org/legacy/030193-remarks-by-president-with-national-service-vols.htm
     -- Anonymous, Greensboro, NC     
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    The full quote and context are not important! Does it really matter which of our constitutional rights Clinton wanted to limit or why?! P.S. Isn't it funny how most of the people who whine about how unfair and out of context this quote is are anonymous?
     -- David Richardson, Newton, IA     
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     -- That One Guy, PG      
     -- James, Crossville      
    Sen diane feinstein admitted on cbs's 60 minutes "if i could have gotten 51 votes in the senate of the united states for an outright ban, picking up every one of them,'Mr. and Mrs. america turn them all in' i would have done it. Anyone that argues that they arent trying to disarm americans is a complete idiot. they tell us daily what there intentions are and the mindless still argue that they dont mean what they say? god help us
     -- Bob, jersey     
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    WTF
     -- minuteman     
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    This quote was as usual misquoted so as to prove the wingnut zealot point of view. What Clinton was saying is that the NRA has turned it's back on common since. The NRA believes EVERYONE has a right to own a gun even those seeking to do harm to others. Do we want Street Gangs so well armed they could be considered paramilitary groups? The NRA says HELL YEA. Clinton said HELL NO. Remember Gun Nuts there would not be any gun laws had a Nutcase not tried to assassinate your God Ronald Reagan.
     -- Ronald Reagan, Wacowakko     
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    What's the point of making a point to people who immediately respond with something to the effect, "I don't care what he really said, the quote make the point, so it must be valid." These people will only see that which reinforces their own existing opinions. This site posts numerous proven fraudulent "quotes" to advance its Right Wing agenda. If the Right can't make its point with the truth, they make it up. Doesn't that show the poverty of their argument?
     -- RobertFB, Everywhere, USA     
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    This quote isn't the only "Gaffe" the Clintons have made. You should know the rest, just go to http://kamarchery.com/Theirwords.html to hear the rest. The likes of Obama, the Clintons, Cass Sunstein, Sara Brady and others; they don't care about your "Rights" hear it in 'their own words'..
     -- Keith, Rock Valley     
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     -- Anonymous, USA      
     
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