During the ABC News presidential debate on Tuesday, Harris emphatically pushed back against the idea that her administration would try to take American gun rights away and boasted about her gun ownership credentials.
Commenters remarked that this is the first time Harris has publicly brought up her gun ownership in years, and the move caught some by surprise on social media, who had no idea she was a gun owner.
Harris Flexes Gun Ownership
During the debate with Republican challenger Donald Trump, Harris brought up her gun ownership as a defense to why she would not pursue radical control policies on guns.
“This business about taking everyone’s guns away, [Gov.] .Tim Walz and I are both gun owners. We’re not taking anybody’s guns away, so stop with the continuous lying about this stuff,” Harris said.
Previous Statement
ABC reports that this is the first time Harris has brought up her gun ownership status during the current campaign, and is the first notable public statement affirming her gun ownership status since her last presidential campaign in 2019.
As a primary challenger, Harris told reporters in Iowa that she owned a handgun that she kept locked away.
Justifying Ownership
During these previous comments, Harris justified her gun ownership by pointing to her career as a prosecutor. Gun ownership among law enforcement is fairly common.
“I am a gun owner, and I own a gun for probably the reason a lot of people do — for personal safety,” said Harris in 2019.
Social Media Surprise
This rare recent comment from Harris on gun ownership during the debate surprised some online, who found it uncharacteristic given the candidate’s past of calling gun bans and confiscation policies.
“We have to have a buyback program, I support a mandatory buyback program. It’s gotta be smart we gotta do it the right way,” Harris said in 2019 on the topic of assault weapons.
Seen as Hypocritical
Online, Harris’ critics saw the move as a cynical way for the candidate to deflect from past statements where she called for these mandatory gun buybacks.
“Kamala Harris just said Trump is lying about her support of a mandatory gun buyback because she ‘is a gun owner.’ The reality is, Kamala will get to keep the guns protecting her while she forces you to turn yours in,” wrote conservative influencer Ashley St. Clair on X.
Debate Bias
Conservatives bring up the fact that this point and others that were not fact-checked during the debate as a reason to accuse the ABC moderators of bias against Trump.
“Kamala is ON TAPE saying she is absolutely against fracking and supports a MANDATORY buy-back of guns. No follow up on her sudden switcheroo, ABC dolts?” wrote conservative commentator Ann Coulter.
Harris’ Gun Stance
Currently, Harris is focused on three primary policy prescriptions to deal with gun violence in America while abandoning some of her past tougher stances she had during her last campaign.
“We will work to pass universal background checks, red Flag laws, and an assault weapons ban,” Harris said at a campaign event earlier this year.
Positive Towards Gun Confiscation
Despite assertions that Harris has changed her view on some of these more radical gun restrictions, critics point out that as recently as last year, Vice President Harris was alluding to the desirability of gun confiscation enacted in Australia.
“In our country today, the leading cause of death of American children is gun violence,” Harris said in October. “Gun violence has terrorized and traumatized so many of our communities in the United States. And let us be clear, it does not have to be this way — as our friends in Australia have demonstrated.”
Flip Flopping
Harris’ critics have accused the Vice President of changing her mind on several stances, suggesting that this “flip-flop” on positions makes her unlikely to keep her word on new stances.
“She has a plan to defund the police. She has a plan to confiscate everybody’s gun. She planned to allow fracking in Pennsylvania or anywhere else,” Trump said during the presidential debate. “That’s what her plan is, until just recently.”
False Choice
Harris in 2019 criticized a culture of forcing to pick between two extremes of the gun debate.
“We are being offered a false choice,” she said. “You’re either in favor of the Second Amendment or you want to take everyone’s guns away. It’s a false choice that is born out of a lack of courage from leaders who must recognize and agree that there are some practical solutions to what is a clear problem in our country.”
Walz Defends Harris
After the debate, Harris’ Vice President Tim Walz took to X to defend her comments, asserting gun control measures wouldn’t be taking away someone’s Second Amendment rights.
“Kamala Harris and I are both gun owners. We’re not going to take away your Second Amendment rights — we’re going to prevent your kids from getting shot at school,” wrote Walz.
