A recently resurfaced video of Kamala Harris shows her talking about police entering the locked homes of gun owners to make sure they are properly storing their weapons.
Harris spoke about the issue in 2007 when she was San Francisco district attorney during a press conference on new gun control laws with then-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and other city officials.
“Just because you legally possess a gun in the sanctity of your locked home doesn’t mean we’re not going to go into that home and check to see if you’re being responsible and safe in the way you conduct your business,” Harris said.
At the time, Harris repeated that “it was time” to enact the new laws and that it was “the right thing to do.”
Harris voiced her threat to police gun owners even after Newsom argued earlier in the news conference that the legislation would not allow law enforcement to knock on everyone’s doors to make sure they were following the law.
San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris has warned gun owners to keep their weapons locked up or face consequences from San Francisco police.
“We’re not going to knock on everybody’s door, we’re not going to force our way in and search,” Newsom said when asked how he would enforce the law.
But Harris seemed to like the idea of using the new law to ensure better behavior from gun owners.
“When we make laws, it’s not just about creating an opportunity, so to speak, to prosecute someone for committing a crime, but more importantly, when we legislate our values, it’s about trying to encourage certain types of behavior,” he said.
During the news conference, Harris also spoke in favor of a requirement for known gun offenders to have their names on a government registry, as do sex offenders and gang members.
“We need to monitor where they live, have them check in from time to time and let us know where they are,” Harris said. “Because when we start looking into who owned a gun or monitoring their behavior … we need to know where they are.”
Harris’ proposed legislation would make it mandatory to store guns indoors
She said she hoped to hear back from the National Rifle Association as a result of her proposal.
“We will,” she laughed. “I’ve heard about them before and I’m sure we’ll hear about them again.”
The video has raised alarm among gun owners across the United States.
“This is blatantly totalitarian. If we don’t resist, we’re finished,” said journalist Tucker Carlson. wrote on social media.
The National Rifle Association also reacted negatively on social media.
“Kamala Harris wants mass gun confiscation and is willing to use the government as a weapon to enter your homes and confiscate your legally owned weapons,” the organization said.
Harris has long supported more restrictions on gun ownership in the United States, including the unusual step of supporting a mandatory government-sponsored gun buyback program.
Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris is interviewed by the National Association of Black Journalists
In 2024, however, Harris is seeking to backtrack on some of her more radical gun control proposals as she runs for president.
“Tim Walz and I are gun owners. We’re not taking guns away from anybody. So stop lying about this,” he said during the presidential debate with former President Donald Trump.
Harris also struggled to answer a question about gun restrictions during an event with the Association of Black Journalists, reminding them of her earlier protest at a gun fair in San Francisco.
“I’ve been adamant about it for years, and in fact, I myself protested at a gun show probably 10 or 15 years ago about the gun show loophole and the need to shut it down,” Harris responded.
