AP FACT CHECK: Clinton misstates high court ruling on guns

WASHINGTON – A claim from the final presidential debate and how it stacks up with the facts:

HILLARY CLINTON: “I disagreed with the way the court applied the Second Amendment” in the District of Columbia vs. Heller decision in 2008. “I was upset because unfortunately dozens of toddlers injure themselves and even kill people with guns… But there’s no doubt I respect the Second Amendment, that I believe there’s an individual right to bear arms.”

THE FACTS: While Clinton emphasized the protection of children from gun accidents, the main holding in that case was far broader: that individuals have a right to own guns, at least in their homes and for self-defence. The case marked the first time the court said that individuals have a Second Amendment right to own a gun. The decision struck down Washington’s ban on handgun ownership as well as a separate requirement that people who have other guns store them either with trigger locks or disassembled. The court said both provisions violate the Second Amendment.

___

Contributed by Associated Press writer Mark Sherman.

EDITOR’S NOTE _ A look at the veracity of claims by political figures