NRA calls Tim Walz 'political chameleon' for shifting stance on gun control after being Harris' VP pick

WASHINGTON, DC: Vice President Kamala Harris declared that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz will run with her on the Democratic ticket for the White House in 2024 despite their past sharp disagreements over the Second Amendment and gun regulation. 

"I am proud to announce that I've asked @Tim_Walz to be my running mate. As a governor, a coach, a teacher, and a veteran, he's delivered for working families like his. It's great to have him on the team. Now let’s get to work," Harris posted to X on Tuesday morning, August 6.

Tim Walz is in the midst of his second term as Minnesota governor

As the governor of Minnesota for the second time, Tim Walz previously represented a predominately rural constituency as a member of Congress in the state from 2007 to 2019. Gun rights and hunting were two things that Walz was known for while he was a congressman representing an area that tended to vote red.

Walz's stance against gun control legislation supported by left-wing Democratic Party members and his defense of gun ownership earned him an A grade from the National Rifle Association.

"Tim Walz is a gun owner. He grew up hunting and spent 24 years in the Army National Guard. Now in Congress, Tim stood up time and time again for the constitutional rights of law-abiding gun owners and sportsmen. It’s why the NRA gave Tim an ‘A’ rating," a 2010 political ad declared.

Guns & Ammo magazine listed Tim Walz among top 20 legislators for gun owners

In 2016, Guns & Ammo magazine listed Tim Walz as one of the top 20 legislators for gun owners, a testament to his support of the Second Amendment.

"A Democrat, Rep. Walz proves that gun rights are not always partisan issues. Walz Co-sponsored ATF reform legislation back in 2008 and was a lead sponsor in the SHARE Act," Walz's feature on the list reads. "While most congressional Democrats have jumped on the gun control train with both feet, Tim Walz and a few others have stuck to their guns."

NRA shames Tim Walz for changing his stance on gun control to fulfill his personal agendas

Since then, Tim Walz has shifted his position to support gun control laws, losing the respect of the Second Amendment community.

In a statement sent to Fox News on Tuesday, the NRA denounced Walz as a "political chameleon" following Harris' formal announcement of him as her running mate.

"Tim Walz is a political chameleon – changing his positions to further his own personal agenda. In Congress, Walz purported to be a friend of gun owners to receive their support in his rural Minnesota district. Once he had his eyes set on other offices, he sold out law-abiding Minnesotans and promoted a radical gun control agenda that emboldened criminals and left everyday citizens defenseless. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz cannot be trusted to defend freedom and our Constitutional rights," Randy Kozuch, chairman of the NRA Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF), said in a statement.

Tim Walz's previous gun stances stand in stark contrast to Kamala Harris' celebration 

Kamala Harris recently declared that Joe Biden's administration will defeat the NRA, pointing to Biden's 1994 vote as a senator to outlaw semi-automatic weapons as support for his position. This stands in sharp contrast to Tim Walz's prior gun rights positions.

"@JoeBiden has taken on the @NRA and won. He can do it again," Harris tweeted last year, accompanied by a campaign ad celebrating Biden’s determination to "ban assault weapons." 

Joe Biden voted to ban semi-automatic firearms in 1994

During his stint as a senator from Delaware, Joe Biden supported a 1994 legislation that included a ban on semi-automatic rifles, even though the restriction had already been passed by the Democratic-majority House. A sunset provision was among the exclusions that the bill eventually needed to pass before it could be included in the comprehensive anti-crime package.

In September of that year, the bill was approved by Congress and signed into law by President Clinton. It established a ten-year ban on the production, distribution, and ownership of "large capacity ammunition feeding devices" and "semiautomatic assault weapons." The law expired in 2004 when George W Bush was president and Republicans controlled both chambers of Congress. 

Tim Walz was one of 65 Democrats who opposed any bans like the semi-automatic firearms ban of 1994

In 2009, during the administration of Barack Obama, Tim Walz was among 65 House Democrats who signed a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder expressing their opposition to any prohibitions akin to the 1994 one. Notably, Holder was selected by Harris this year to oversee the screening of the group of possible veeps prior to Walz's selection.

The congressman drastically modified his position on gun control in 2017 and 2018, joining other Democrats in demanding stricter legislation regarding gun ownership. After the horrific massacre in Las Vegas in 2017, Walz declared he was giving the approximately $18,000 he had received from the NRA to charity.

Walz joined other Democrats in advocating for gun control legislation a few days following the horrific school shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018. Second Amendment organizations criticized the governor for enacting a red flag order and enacting universal background checks last year.

Tim Walz wrote a 2018 op-ed about his 'evolving' views on guns

Tim Walz wrote in an op-ed in 2018 that his views on guns are "evolving in some ways," but that he's "always been a reformer."

"To finally come together to end gun violence, we'll need a new approach. We'll need to build a coalition we haven't seen before: rural, urban, suburban and exurban folks; gun owners and gun-violence survivors; hunters and advocates and police officers and the young people who are stepping up right now. We'll need a coalition of folks of good faith who haven't seen eye to eye but respect the different ways of life in every corner of our state," Walz wrote in an op-ed published by the Star Tribune in 2018. 

"That's how we get things done in Minnesota: We come together. As a hunter, sportsman and veteran with a lifelong respect for guns, as a resident of greater Minnesota, a teacher, and a dad who just wants his kids to come home safe, I can and will bring together that coalition to end gun violence, preserve our ways of life and ensure that everyone gets home to their families safe," he added.

Internet reacts as Tim Walz gets criticized for ditching former pro-Second Amendment stance

Netizens shared their thoughts after Kamala Harris' running mate Tim Walz was referred to as a "political chameleon" for abandoning his prior support for the Second Amendment. One X user said, "If you’re not pro second amendment, then you’re not American."

Another tweeted, "They follow money. That's all that drives them."

"He has no presidential stage presence. An Admiral James Stockdale… if u get the reference," remarked one while someone else wrote, "Minnesota is a big mess because of him !!"

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.