Quotes Joe Biden as saying "no ordinary American cares about constitutional rights."
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Joe Biden did not say quote about Americans not caring about constitutional rights
A viral image that recently resurfaced on social media makes the claim that Joe Biden once said, "No ordinary American cares about constitutional rights."
The post features a photo of Biden with text above the alleged quote that reads, "This is how stupid this man is and he wants to be our president? The constitution was put in place to protect us from our government. Without it and our bill of rights we would be living in a communist country which is what the communist democrat party wants. They MUST disarm us first get the picture!"
The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
The statement is not authentic and has circulated the internet for years.
This quote spiraled out of a comment Biden made during a weapons control forum in 2013, but it has been largely altered and taken out of context.
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A YouTube video posted in 2015 and titled "Biden: no ordinary American cares about his constitutional rights" has over 31,000 views. But at no point during the video does Biden say those words. In the clip, he talks about the "roadblocks" that are put up by those who oppose gun control:
"They say all you’re going to do is deny law-abiding citizens their rights under the Second Amendment. Not true. They say guns like the AR-15 are needed for self-protection and recreation. They are not. There are plenty of ways you can protect yourself and recreate without an AR-15. They say it isn’t about guns. They’re wrong; it is about guns. Let me say at the outset to all the press: No law abiding citizen in the United States of America has any fear that their Constitutional rights will be infringed in any way. None, zero. Look, common sense facts are these assault weapons are unnecessary and dangerous weapons that put our law enforcement personnel at risk…"
The YouTube video tracks back to a February 2013 address Biden gave during a forum held at Western Connecticut State University, about two months after the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting.
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Soon after the talk, Breitbart posted a story with the headline "Biden: No Ordinary American Cares About Their Constitutional Rights, Facebook Questions are Plants."
Our ruling
A claim on Facebook quotes Biden as saying, "No ordinary American cares about constitutional rights."
This is a distortion. Biden did say that no law-abiding citizen has any fear that their constitutional rights will be infringed without the protection of an AR-15. But he did not say that "ordinary Americans" simply don’t care about their constitutional rights.
The quote shared on social media has been altered, exaggerated and taken out of context.
We rate this False.
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Our Sources
Facebook post, May 8, 2019
YouTube, "Biden: no ordinary American cares about his constitutional rights," Oct. 13, 2015
Breitbart, Biden: No Ordinary American Cares About Their Constitutional Rights, Facebook Questions are Plants, Feb. 21, 2013
FactCheck.org, Bogus Biden Quote Circulates Again, Oct. 22, 2018
YouTube, Biden Gun Control Speech: A Forceful and Often Emotional Appeal | The New York Times, Feb. 21, 2013
Federal Response to Gun Violence Conference with Vice President Joe Biden at Western Connecticut State University, Feb. 21, 2013
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Joe Biden did not say quote about Americans not caring about constitutional rights
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