Vice President Kamala Harris decried bad faith arguments against gun reform Thursday night at a livestream event hosted by Oprah Winfrey in the battleground state of Michigan. Harris spoke candidly at the “Unite for America” forum in light of the mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia that killed two students and two teachers on Sept. 6.
“I think for far too long on the issue of gun violence, some people have been pushing a really false choice,” said the Democratic presidential nominee. “To suggest you’re either in favor of the Second Amendment or you want to take everyone’s guns away.”
Throughout her campaign, Harris has pushed back on the cynical GOP stance that if lawmakers aren’t in favor of any and all guns circulating without regulations, that means they want to “take away all our guns.” This black-and-white framing leaves no room for common-sense gun reform at the national level. But reform is a winning policy stance: Research shows that six in 10 Americans favor stricter gun laws.
Harris reiterated that she is a gun owner in an off-the-cuff remark during the event.
“If you break into my house, you’re getting shot,” she said, then chuckled. “I probably should not have said that.”
“I’m not trying to take everyone’s guns away,” Harris added. “I believe in the Second Amendment.”
Mass shootings and gun violence are a dismal, unfortunate, and anxiety-inducing reality of American life, and depressingly close to being normalized due to their frequency. The Democratic Party has long advocated for gun reform, while Republicans have fought against any legislation. Campaign contributions from the gun lobby could be at play: The National Rifle Association had a $2.5 million lobbying budget in 2023.
Harris wants to implement legislation that would decrease the number of mass shootings and keep guns out of the hands of those who shouldn’t have them.
If elected, here’s what she proposes to implement at the federal level:
Assault weapons have high-capacity magazines with the ability to shoot multiple rounds in seconds. These are different from hand guns, which fire single rounds at once, limiting the scope of injury or death. An assault weapons ban would make it illegal to own a high-capacity magazine, and in turn, make mass shootings less lethal.
These are laws that require all gun buyers to undergo a background check, regardless of how or where they are purchasing the firearm. This would include private sales, gun shows, and online transactions. A key goal of universal background checks is closing gun show loopholes, which allow purchases to be made on the spot and without a background check.
Data from Oxford University suggests that states with universal background check laws experience lower rates of gun-related homicides and suicides.
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Red flag laws.
Red flag laws, also known as extreme risk protection orders, are legal provisions that allow law enforcement agencies or family members to use the court system to temporarily remove guns from those who are deemed a danger to themselves or others. According to Everytown for Gun Safety, 21 states including California, Washington, and Maryland have already implemented red flag laws, and Maine activists will soon start collecting signatures to put a provision on the 2025 or 2026 ballot. What Harris proposes would make it federal law.
Here’s the exact text of the Second Amendment in the Constitution: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
None of these gun reforms will take away someone’s right to own a firearm for their protection. These proposed changes aim to decrease the national nightmare that is mass shootings and keep guns out of the hands of criminals and those at risk of using them for homicide or suicide.
That does not infringe on the Second Amendment.
