Kamala Harris reminds Americans she's a gun owner at ABC News debate

The vice president has been a staunch gun-control advocate.

ByIvan Pereira, ABC News KTRK logo
Wednesday, September 11, 2024
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PHILADELPHIA -- After former President Donald Trump said during Tuesday's debate that Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democrats will take people's guns away, the vice president pushed back with a little-known fact about herself: She is a gun owner.

Harris briefly pivoted from a question on healthcare to respond to the attacks that Trump laid out during an earlier question.

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"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," she said.

Although Harris has not spoken about her gun-ownership status during the current campaign, she did bring it up five years ago while running for president -- telling reporters in Iowa that she became a gun owner for personal safety issues when she was a prosecutor.

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Her campaign told CNN at the time that the firearm, a handgun, was securely locked up.

Harris has supported several gun control measures including universal background checks and stricter penalties for drug trafficking.

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Trump is also a gun owner, however, his permit will be revoked following his conviction in Manhattan.