(CNN)The Democratic Party gathered in Philadelphia on Wednesday for the third night of its convention, and CNN"s Reality Check Team put the speakers" statements and assertions to the test.
The team of reporters, researchers and editors across CNN listened throughout the speeches and selected key statements, rating them true; mostly true; true, but misleading; false; or it"s complicated.
Guns
Reality Check: Trump and guns
By Jamie Crawford, CNN National Security Producer
"Trump says that in his first hour in the Oval Office, he would roll back safeguards we already have," Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy said. "And even more sinister, Trump said that by the end of his first day in office, he"ll mandate that every school in America allow guns in their classrooms."
Trump has been adamant in his criticism of gun free zones at schools, and at one point earlier in the campaign, seemed to endorse a blanket call to eliminate all such zones. He clarified those comments in May after Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton said Trump was calling for a mandate that "every school in America allow guns in classrooms."
In reaction to those comments, Trump said, "I don"t want to have guns in classrooms, although in some cases, teachers should have guns in classrooms, frankly," although he conceded his proposal would allow guns into schools.
"The way she said it meant like every student should be sitting there carrying guns," Trump said. "If trained people had guns, you wouldn"t have the carnage that you"ve had."
American University law professor and CNN contributor Steve Vladek said Trump can"t "mandate" every school in America to allow guns in their classrooms.
"He certainly can"t mandate that by himself," Vladek said. "A harder question is whether Congress could pass a law imposing such a mandate. I suspect reasonable folks will disagree on the answer to that, but there"s not much to any argument that he could do it by executive order alone."
Based on Trump"s comments in May that he did not "want to have guns in classrooms," and Murphy"s assertion that Trump would "mandate" that every school in America allow guns in their classrooms, we rate that claim as false.
Just before those remarks, Murphy said that Trump would roll back existing safeguards on guns enacted by President Barack Obama during Trump"s "first hour" in office. Trump did say the following during an address to the National Rifle Association in May: "We will unsign lots of different things, including some of those terrible executive orders. Believe me, they are going to be unsigned so fast. They will be unsigned the first hour that I"m in office."
While Trump also referenced education and immigration during the course of those remarks on executive orders, his effusive defense of the Second Amendment as well leads us to rate Murphy"s assertion as true.
Climate change
Reality Check: Republicans and climate change
By Kate Grise and Justin Gamble, CNN
California Gov. Jerry Brown slammed the Republican Party for ignoring climate change issues at their convention last week.
"Last week at the Republican Convention, for 76 long and painful minutes, Trump conjured up a host of dark threats, but never once mentioned the words "climate change" or "global warming." What do you expect?" he said. "Trump represents a party with officials that have banned state employees from even using those words in Florida, and who knows where else."
We reviewed what the Republican presidential nominee said, and he did not mention climate change or global warming during his speech on the last night of his party"s convention.
As Brown pointed out, state officials in Florida have been accused of directing employees not to use the terms "climate change" and "global warming" according to an investigation by the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting.
According to the report, the unwritten guidelines were communicated with employees in the Florida Department of Environmental Protection shortly after Gov. Rick Scott began his first term in 2011.
Many former and current DEP employees told the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting that they were told not to use the words in official communications, emails or reports.
Spokeswomen for both DEP and Scott"s office denied the reports and said that there is no policy on this.
Although there may not be a policy, an investigation showed state employees were told not to use those words. We rate Brown"s claims as true.
Reality Check: California"s prosperity under tough climate laws
By Kate Grise, CNN
Brown held up his home state as a shining example of a place where tough climate laws have not hurt businesses.
"We have solar, wind, zero-emission cars, energy efficiency, and yes, a price on carbon," he said. "We"re proving that even with the toughest climate laws in the country, our economy in California is growing faster than almost any nation in the whole world."
California"s tough environmental regulations include limits on greenhouse gas emissions in all sectors of the economy - energy, transportation, waste and national resources, according to the California Environmental Protection Agency.
Thanks in large part to the high-tech boom and a statewide surge in employment, California is the world"s sixth-largest economy, according to figures from Brown"s administration.
The California Department of Finance used GDP data from the International Monetary Fund and the US Bureau of Economic Analysis to determine their standing amongst other countries.
When adjusted for the high cost of living in California, the state"s ranking drops to 11th, according to the California Legislative Analyst"s Office.
According to the BEA, California"s economy grew 4.1% in 2015, tying with Oregon for the state with the most growth.
According to International Monetary Fund estimates, 50 countries had GDP growth greater than 4.1% in 2015: Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cte d"Ivoire, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Fiji, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Kenya, Lao PDR, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sri Lanka, St. Kitts and Nevis, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Zambia.
The United States" GDP growth was 2.568% in 2015, according to IMF estimates.
While California"s economy is growing at double the pace of the United States as a whole and much faster than many developed countries, we have to rate his claim as false. There are at least 50 countries -- many developing nations -- whose economies are growing faster than California"s.
Abortion
Reality Check: Hogue on abortion
By Sonam Vashi, CNN
Activist Ilyse Hogue addressed abortion and women"s reproductive health in her speech.
"About one in three American women have abortions by the age of 45, and the majority are mothers just trying to take care of the families they already have," she said.
These stats are from the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health research organization that supports abortion rights and surveys abortion patients every six to eight years. Using data from its 2008 survey, Guttmacher estimated that one in three women have an abortion by age 45, and that 61% of women having abortions already had at least one child, with 34% having two or more children. Guttmacher also notes that only half of all abortions are represented in their studies, as rates tend to be underreported.
Maybe Trump was referring to a minimum wage that"s just right.
Trump did say that he thought wages were too high, but O"Malley doesn"t note that Trump has shifted his position. So we rate O"Malley"s claim mostly true.
ISIS
Reality Check: ISIS using Trump in advertisements
By Kate Grise, CNN
Retired Rear Adm. John Hutson repeated an often-used Clinton campaign line to attack Trump.
"Donald Trump is a walking, talking recruiting poster for terrorists. That"s not hyperbole ... ISIS literally used Trump in a commercial," he said.
When we checked this claim in December, we rated it false because there was no evidence at that time of ISIS using videos of Trump for recruitment, as Clinton had claimed.
As we reported then, it is difficult to speak to all of ISIS" communication: Some of it happens in the open on social media sites, but other communications are hidden in what"s known as the "Dark web."
Now, however, there is evidence that ISIS has released a propaganda video that features Trump.
In March, Newsweek reported that a video focusing on the "Brussels Attacks" was released by the pro-ISIS al-Battar Media Foundation. The nine-minute video shows images of Trump and uses an audio clip of Trump saying, "Brussels was one of the great, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, 20 years ago. It was amazing, actually, and safe. Now, it"s an absolute horror show."
We now rate this claim -- resurrected Wednesday night by Hutson -- that ISIS used Trump in a propaganda video as true.
Mike Pence
Reality Check: Mike Pence"s record
By Lisa Rose, CNN
Stephanie Schriock, president of the pro-abortion rights political action committee, Emily"s List, said a Trump-Pence administration would roll back women"s rights, criminalizing abortion and slashing reproductive health funding. She called the Republican ticket "dangerous," referring to Trump"s controversial remarks about women and Pence"s legislative record.
"They"ve nominated a man who said women should be punished for having an abortion, said, "putting a wife to work is a dangerous thing," called us "fat pigs" and "animals,"" Schriock said. "He picked a running mate who led the fight to destroy Planned Parenthood, tried to redefine rape, suggested that mothers who work "stunt the emotional growth" of their kids by putting them in daycare."
Schriock accurately quoted Trump -- although he did walk back his statement about punishing women who get abortions -- so we"ll dig into her claims about Pence.
Pence is hardly the first conservative lawmaker to target Planned Parenthood, but he made headlines in 2011 when he nearly caused a government shutdown by attaching a rider defunding the group to a general budget resolution. Pence"s measure ultimately failed, and a last-minute deal was brokered to avert a shutdown. While Pence is a vocal opponent of Planned Parenthood, Schriock gives him too much credit by identifying him as the person who has led the fight against the abortion provider. Legislators have been trying to defund the group since the 1970s, according to research by the Guttmacher Institute, a left-leaning think tank. We rate this part of her claim mostly true.
But Schriock omitted some crucial context when she claimed that Pence tried to "redefine rape." In 2010, Pence co-sponsored a bill restricting federally-funded abortion access for sexual assault victims with language that allowed for exemptions only in cases of "forcible rape."
The language stirred up confusion, as people questioned whether the exemption would include victims of statutory rape or date rape. The bill, called the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortions Act, got rewritten and the term "forcible" was removed. The rewritten version passed the House but died in the Senate. Pence was one of 186 bipartisan co-sponsors for the bill, which was introduced by Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, and Rep. Dan Lapinski, D-Illinois.
Again, Schriock overstated her case. Pence did not spearhead an effort to redefine rape. He cosponsored an anti-abortion measure that contained language ending government funding for the procedure in some cases of sexual assault. Our verdict is true, but misleading.
Lastly, Schriock quoted a snippet from a 1997 letter to the editor that Pence sent to the Indianapolis Star. He wrote the letter in the response to an article about a government study that concluded sending kids to daycare does not negatively impact their cognitive development. He wrote that the article overlooked one of the study"s findings -- that some children who attend daycare appear to display less affection towards their mothers. He used this as a jumping off point to argue that "daycare kids get the short end of the emotional stick" and he advocated tax breaks that would enable one parent to stay at home with young kids.
Schriock didn"t technically misquote Pence but she made a sweeping statement without providing the full context. We rate the final part of her claim true, but misleading.
LGBT rights
Reality Check: Economic effects of North Carolina bathroom bill
By Jasmine Lee, CNN
Raleigh technology entrepreneur Brooks Bell said she was "terrified" about what might happen for young entrepreneurs like herself if a Trump presidency were to happen.
During her speech, she talked about North Carolina"s passage of the controversial Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, also known as HB2, and the "dramatic effects" it has on the state economy.
"I watched a large company cancel their expansion, taking 400 good jobs with them," Bell said. "Two influential technology investors immediately banned investments in our state. The NBA just pulled the All-Star Game out of town. The total economic cost is already $190 million dollars and counting."
She continued by noting that Pence signed a similar "discriminatory bill" into Indiana law.
Bell"s claim about the bill"s effect on the state"s economy is true.
The NBA said in a statement that it would be moving its 2017 All-Star Game out of Charlotte because of the "climate created by HB2."
PayPal planned to open a facility in Charlotte but later canceled its plans in April which would have employed 400 people. PayPal"s CEO Dan Schulman said in a statement the North Carolina law "perpetuates discrimination and it violates the values and principles that are at the core of PayPal"s mission and culture."
Deutsche Bank also halted its plans to bring 250 new jobs to Cary, North Carolina.
An opinion article written by Catherine Rampell in The Washington Post cites the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, which estimated the law could cost the state nearly $600 million in private-sector economic activity.
Verdict: True.
Swing votes
Reality Check: The Asian-American swing vote
By Ali Foreman, CNN
Heading into a particularly contentious election, New York Rep. Grace Meng assured voters, "Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders can make the difference." She said the group"s voting power had "doubled over the last decade" and claimed the bloc had ownership of the swing votes in Virginia, Nevada and Pennsylvania.
Meng"s first assertion that Asian-American and Pacific Islanders" (AAPI) voting power has grown considerably in recent years is true. The latest Asian-American Voter Survey -- conducted by a conglomerate of AAPI political organizations -- highlights the growth of the AAPI population as well as an increase in registered AAPI voters. From 2000 to 2012, the number of AAPI voters increased from 2 million to 3.9 million. By 2025, the group is projected to make up 5% of voters nationwide.
While Asian-American voters play an increasingly important role in national politics, Meng"s declaration that they will decide three major swing states in the 2016 presidential race is an overstatement.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Virginia"s population is 6.6% AAPI, Nevada"s population is slightly higher at 9.3% and Pennsylvania only has 3.5%. These groups are influential, but assuming a voter turnout matching those numbers is optimistic.
For this reason, concerted efforts have been made to encourage AAPI voter participation in swing states. The AAPI Victory Fund has pledged $2 million to register at least 50,000 voters before Election Day and Clinton has made concerted attempts to court AAPI voters since primary season.
However, according to The Washington Post, many AAPI people remain reluctant to vote -- facing "obstacles to political involvement." For first-generation AAPI immigrants, these hurdles often include "concentration on moving up economically, poor English skills, unfamiliarity with the American political system and reluctance to invite public scrutiny."
More importantly, AAPI groups aren"t the only ones at play in battleground states. Continued competition for other minority group support and evolving debates on critical policy issues could greatly influence outcomes in Virginia, Nevada and Pennsylvania.
Meng"s claim is incorrect, but AAPI voters could still play a pivotal role in electing her candidate of choice. Clinton is scoring favorably with AAPI voters across the nation. The Asian-American Voter Survey indicates this may be a result of Trump"s rhetoric; the survey asked participants "If a political candidate expressed strongly anti-immigrant views, but you agreed with him or her on other issues, would you still vote for that candidate, or would you vote for someone else?" A reported 41% of Asian-American registered voters would give their support to a different candidate.
Our verdict: Meng"s assertion that voting power for Asian-American and Pacific Islander has doubled in the past decade is true. Her claim that AAPI voters can claim ownership of the swing vote in Virginia, Nevada and Pennsylvania, however, is false. A swing vote -- yes. The swing vote -- no.
Military
Reality Check: Trump firing reservists
By Chip Grabow, CNN
Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego, who also served in the Marine Corps, went after Trump"s remarks of some in the US military. Gallego said, "When it comes to honoring the service of our troops, reservists have said Trump"s businesses fired them for missing work because of their duties. That"s not just illegal, it"s immoral."
A federal law, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, does protect the rights of veterans, including reservists and guardsmen who are on active duty, to return to work after military service. Employers must treat days missed due to deployment as days worked. Those days cannot be used against vacation time.
So, did Trump"s companies ever fire reservists?
Corinne Sommer, an Iraq war veteran claimed she was fired in 2007 by Trump"s real estate seminar business, Trump University. Sommer sued Trump University and reached a confidential settlement. She later said she was let go because she needed two days a month off to serve in the Army Reserve.
That detail came from a 2012 deposition she provided in a federal class action suit accusing the school of fraud. In that deposition, Sommer also alleged that, within a poor performance review she received, "They wrote it was an issue that I was in the military." She said she was fired after returning from vacation she had refused to cut short after being called to come into work.
Jill Martin, a spokeswoman for the Trump Organization, said they couldn"t comment on reasons for an employee"s dismissal, but Martin did point to Sommer"s poor performance review; the vacation she took which Martin said was "unauthorized," and her refusal to return to work. Martin also said Sommer"s claim she was fired due to her service in the military was "completely meritless."
Another reservist, Richard Wright, a senior master sergeant in the Air Force Reserve, returned from his deployment in Afghanistan in 2007 only to be fired from his job with the Trump Institute, a real estate seminar business which is a licensee of Trump University. Wright was hired in 2006 as a "mentor," someone who phoned clients who purchased "memberships" with the Trump Institute to provide advice about real estate investing.
Two months after starting, Wright was called up for active duty in Afghanistan. Upon his return, he"d requested two days of personal leave to adjust to civilian life and to do laundry. Wright said his boss told him, "All of your absences" had forced them to "re-evaluate your position with" the company, according to The Huffington Post. His boss also wrote: "I find it insulting that you would make a request to be paid for time you did not work and/or personal time you did not earn." Wright said he didn"t think the comments were appropriate and that he didn"t appreciate being spoken to that way. His boss wrote back: "You needn"t be offended by my remarks, your employment is hereby terminated," according to The Huffington Post.
The next year, Wright sued the Trump Institute and its parent company for wrongful termination under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. The two parties reached a settlement. When The Huffington Post asked the Trump Organization about the incident, Alan Garten, the general counsel for Trump Organization, provided this statement: "The Trump Institute was a licensee of Trump University and was not owned or controlled by Mr. Trump or any of his companies," Garten said.
"As such, Mr. Trump had nothing whatsoever to do with the employment of any of the Trump Institute"s employees or mentors, had no involvement in the development or enforcement of any of the Trump Institute"s employment policies and has no knowledge of this matter," Garten continued. "Mr. Trump has always been a great supporter of the men and women who have served in this country"s armed forces and has devoted much of his campaign to improving the lives of veterans."
It"s true the two former employees sued Trump University and the Trump Institute, respectively, for wrongful termination and settled. Because details of the settlements are confidential, it"s impossible to know if they were fired specifically for their service in the military. For that reason, our verdict is it"s complicated.
Read more: <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/27/politics/democratic-convention-fact-check/index.html">http://edition.cnn.com/</a>
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