Harris reminds Trump she owns a gun as ex-POTUS claims she will go after Second Amendment during debate

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA: Kamala Harris and Donald Trump's presidential debate on Tuesday, September 10, took an intense turn when the former president accused the vice president of having a "plan to confiscate everybody’s gun."

The Democratic nominee swiftly shot back by saying, "This business about taking everyone’s guns away—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." 

National Rifle Association hits back at Kamala Harris' debate response

This isn't something new as Kamala Harris has spoken about owning a firearm in the past. Back in 2019, amid her first bid for the White House, she made it clear that she is a gun owner. 

"I am a gun owner, and I own a gun for probably the reason a lot of people do—for personal safety. I was a career prosecutor," said Harris at the time. One of her campaign aides confirmed to CNN that the weapon in question is a handgun she purchased years ago.

Of course, the National Rifle Association (NRA) wasn’t going to let Harris’s statements go unanswered. Following the debate, the NRA took to X (formerly Twitter) to contrast Harris’s comments about not taking anyone’s guns away with her recent post advocating for stricter gun control measures.

Harris had called for more decisive action to curb gun violence just last week. On X, she wrote, "We must pass an assault weapons ban, universal background checks, and red flag laws."

In their post, NRA quoted the vice president and wrote, "Kamala Harris last week: 'We must pass an assault weapons ban. Kamala Harris this week: 'We're not taking anybody's guns away.'"

Harris’s running mate, Tim Walz, also has a history with the NRA. Once a supporter of the organization, the Minnesota Governor became a vocal critic after the tragic school shooting in Parkland, Florida, in 2018.

The incident was a turning point for Walz, who then described the NRA as the "biggest single obstacle to passing the most basic measures to prevent gun violence in America."

After the debate, Walz took to X to reinforce Harris’ message, writing, "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." 

This comes just days after a devastating shooting at Georgia's Apalachee High School, where two 14-year-old students and two teachers were tragically killed, as per the Daily Beast.

Kamala Harris' focus on gun violence prevention vs Donald Trump's stance on gun rights

Preventing gun violence has been central to Kamala Harris' messaging and is now a key focus of her presidential campaign.

She’s been at the forefront of the Biden administration’s efforts to implement gun safety measures, especially since taking charge of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, which was established in September 2023.

Under her leadership, the office made strides in enhancing background checks for young gun buyers and pushing forward the implementation of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, a landmark gun safety legislation signed by President Joe Biden in 2022.

Earlier this year, Harris also announced the creation of a resource center dedicated to supporting the enforcement of Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs) commonly known as red flag laws. These laws are designed to temporarily disarm individuals who are deemed to pose a danger to themselves or others.

The vice president subsequently received endorsements from leading gun reform organizations like March For Our Lives, Giffords, and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

That said, she’s likely to push for expanded background checks for all gun purchases if elected in November. Harris is also expected to reinstate the federal ban on assault weapons and introduce stricter regulations on ghost guns, large-capacity ammunition magazines, and bump stocks. 

On the flip side, Trump has always been a staunch defender of the Second Amendment, aligning closely with the NRA and other gun lobbying groups. The NRA officially endorsed Trump during its annual convention in Dallas in May, where the former president was a keynote speaker.

On that very day, Trump’s campaign announced the creation of a "Gun Owners for Trump" coalition.

The GOP nominee's record on guns during his presidency was a mixed bag. While he rolled back some Obama-era policies that restricted gun ownership, he also took action after the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, where a gunman used bump stocks to kill 58 people at the Route 91 Harvest music festival.

Trump directed the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to reclassify bump stocks as machine guns, effectively banning them. However, the Supreme Court partially overturned that ban in June of this year, as reported by The Trace.