Vice President Kamala Harris laughed Thursday for shooting a would-be intruder in her home, despite her history of opposing some self-defense gun laws as racist.
Harris spoke about gun ownership during an appearance with Oprah Winfrey at a political forum on Thursday night, confirming that she owned a gun.
“If anyone comes into my house, I’ll shoot them, I’m sorry,” Harris said with a laugh.
—Yes, yes. I hear it, I hear it, Winfrey replied.
“I probably shouldn’t have said that,” Harris added as some in the audience laughed nervously. “But my staff will deal with that later.”
Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris discussed gun ownership and self-defense with Oprah Winfrey at Oprah’s Unite for America livestream event
Harris made the comment in defense of gun owners’ right to defend themselves and their property, despite previously condemning self-defense gun laws as racist.
In 2020, Harris condemned “stand your ground” self-defense laws during an interview with gun control group Everytown for Gun Safety.
He argued that such laws were “used as an excuse, if not a cover, for people motivated by racism and racial discrimination.”
“It’s been used as an excuse to kill black and brown people,” he added.
US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris (L) joins US television producer Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey, joined by Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris, listens to an audience member
Self-defense laws exist in 28 states, allowing a person to defend themselves and their property using deadly force without first retreating from an attacker. according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Some states have specifically included the words “stand your ground” in their laws to make this clearer.
But Harris called such laws dangerous to minority communities because gun owners were using them as “a shield for their bad behavior and, frankly, their racism.”
Even as vice president, Harris expressed her willingness to end “stand your ground” laws during an interview with Telemundo.
When the news anchor talked about the story of a man who was shot after knocking on the wrong door, Harris lamented that those laws were wrong and needed to be changed.
“I think there needs to be,” he said. “We need to pass reasonable gun safety laws in this country. Babies are dying. Babies.”
He denounced state and local lawmakers who defend self-defense laws as cowards.
“Standing the line. You want to talk about standing the line? Standing up for principles, standing up for the safety of our children. Standing up for what is reasonable,” he said.
A spokesperson for Harris did not respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com.
Harris has long supported stricter gun control legislation, including a mandatory government-sponsored assault weapons buyback program.
Since assuming the 2024 presidential nomination from President Joe Biden, however, Harris has told voters she will not take away their guns.
“I’m not trying to take away everyone’s guns,” Harris said during the forum.
