Fact Check: Yes, Kamala Harris, Who Advocates Stricter Gun Laws, Is a Gun Owner

Taija PerryCook

13 September 2024 at 7:29 pm·3-min read

Claim:

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris is a gun owner.

Rating:

As the 2024 presidential election nears, Democratic pick Kamala Harris faces the challenging task of appealing to a wide spectrum of voters who share widely different views on gun rights.

As of this writing, Harris is running a campaign for stricter gun laws – such as state-enacted red-flag laws, required background checks, and an assault weapons ban – but countered Republican presidential Donald Trump when he accused her of having "a plan to confiscate everybody's gun" during the presidential debate that took place on Sept. 10, 2024.

"Tim Walz and I are both gun owners. We're not taking anybody's guns away," she said. "So stop with the continuous lying about this stuff."

Later that evening, Tim Walz, Harris' running mate, posted the following on X (archived):

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.
— Tim Walz (@Tim_Walz) September 11, 2024

Multiple outlets – including The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, BBC, Vox, and NPR – published articles in the wake of this announcement with headlines such as "Wait, Kamala Harris owns a gun?" And "Kamala Harris is a gun owner — but she's still a proponent of stricter gun laws."

It actually wasn't the first time Harris has publicly announced that she owns a gun; while on the presidential campaign trail in 2019, she said: "I am a gun owner, and I own a gun for probably the reason that a lot of people do, for personal safety. I was a career prosecutor. And in terms of gun policy though I think that for too long and still today we are being offered a false choice which suggests you're either in favor of the Second Amendment or you want to take everyone's guns away."

At the time, CNN reported that an aide said Harris kept the handgun safely locked up in her California home.

In sum, because Harris herself publicly confirmed she's a gun owner, we rate this claim "True."

Sources:

Anderson, Meg. 'Kamala Harris Is a Gun Owner — but She's Still a Proponent of Stricter Gun Laws'. NPR, 11 Sept. 2024. NPR, https://www.npr.org/2024/09/11/nx-s1-5107973/kamala-harris-gun-owner-debate-donald-trump.

Cogan, Marin. 'Wait, Kamala Harris Owns a Gun?' Vox, 11 Sept. 2024, https://www.vox.com/politics/371304/what-kamala-harris-gun-ownership-reveals-about-american-politics.

Lah, Kyung. 'Kamala Harris Talks about Owning a Gun: "I Was a Career Prosecutor" | CNN Politics'. CNN, 11 Apr. 2019, https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/11/politics/kamala-harris-gun-owner/index.html.

News, A. B. C. 'READ: Harris-Trump Presidential Debate Transcript'. ABC News, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/harris-trump-presidential-debate-transcript/story?id=113560542. Accessed 13 Sept. 2024.

Spiering, Charlie. 'The Truth about Kamala Harris' Gun and Why She Bought One'. Mail Online, 12 Sept. 2024, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13843541/Kamala-Harris-gun-owner-presidential-debate.html.

Why Kamala Harris Is Highlighting Her Gun Ownership. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3vxvzg34qwo. Accessed 13 Sept. 2024.

- YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trx1_MHuI6o. Accessed 13 Sept. 2024.

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