NRA chief tells Hillary Clinton to 'bring it on' in gun control fight

Wayne LaPierre tells conservative conference that Democratic frontrunner
‘hates us’ and that she is ‘coming after every bit of our freedom’ if elected

David Smith at National Harbor, Maryland
Thursday 3 March 2016 21.56 GMT

The head of the National Rifle Association (NRA) warned Hillary Clinton on Thursday that she faces a long and bitter fight over gun control should she win the White House, declaring: “Bring it on.”

Wayne LaPierre, chief executive of the powerful gun rights lobby group, launched a scathing attack on Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and the media, claiming that the NRA has helped protect millions of children by advocating armed guards at schools.

Clinton “has been clear about one thing – she hates the second amendment”, LaPierre told the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) near Washington. “She hates us and is coming after every bit of our freedom.”

He added: “Mrs Clinton, if you want to come after the NRA, if you want a fight over the God-given rights of America’s 100 million gun owners, if you want to turn this election into a bare-knuckled brawl for the survival of our constitutional freedom, bring it on. We aren’t going anywhere – and we aren’t hard to find.”

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