Vice President Kamala Harris surprised many Americans when she announced during Tuesday’s debate that she owned a firearm because of her history of pushing for greater gun control.
“Tim Walz and I are both gun owners. We’re not going to take away anyone’s guns. So stop lying about this,” he said during the debate with Donald Trump.
But Harris actually revealed that she owned guns on the campaign trail in Iowa, during her failed 2020 presidential bid.
“I’m a gun owner, and I probably own a gun for the same reason a lot of people do: for personal safety,” Harris told voters in April 2019, reminding them that she once served as city attorney.
Campaign aides at the time confirmed that Harris owned a gun and kept it locked away. She has not revealed the make or model, but says she is a good shot.
Democratic presidential candidate and US Vice President Kamala Harris at the ABC News presidential debate
Harris’ campaign did not respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com.
Harris spoke about firing guns in a 2015 interview with journalist Mike Allen, who asked her if she had ever fired a gun.
In response, Harris laughed and declined to say when he last used a gun.
“I’m a good shot,” she added, laughing. “Yes, I’ve shot many, many times.”
She confirmed that she had fired a ‘gun’, but declined to share further details.
Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris exits her vehicle as she prepares to board Air Force Two
Then-Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., at an event in July 2019
During the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries, Harris proposed a number of gun control policies, including backing a controversial government-run mandatory gun buyback program.
She detailed her position on an MSNBC show. forum on gun safety in October 2019.
“We have to have a buyback program, and I support a mandatory gun buyback program,” he said.
Harris warned that there were already estimates of up to 10 million assault weapons in the United States.
“We’re going to have to have smart public policy that aims to get these people off the streets, but do it the right way,” he said.
During her presidential campaign, Harris promised to impose new gun control policies through executive action if Congress did not act within 100 days.
“As president, I will take executive action to ban imports of AR-15-style assault weapons,” Harris said in August 2019.
Harris’ repeated calls for executive action on guns rankled then-Vice President Joe Biden, who criticized her for suggesting she could enact major gun reforms without Congress.
Former Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Senator Kamala Harris during a 2019 presidential primary debate
Then-Senator Kamala Harris advocated for executive action on gun control during her failed 2020 presidential campaign
“There is no constitutional authority to issue an executive order when they say ‘I’m going to eliminate assault weapons,'” he told reporters. “You can’t do it by executive order, just like Trump can’t do things when he says he can do it by executive order.”
When Harris was asked during a Democratic primary debate to respond to Biden’s criticism, Harris was dismissive.
“Hey, Joe, instead of saying, ‘No, we can’t,’ let’s say, ‘Yes, we can,'” he said.
“Let’s be constitutional. We have a Constitution,” Biden responded.