During a star-studded virtual event for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris hosted by Oprah Winfrey, the vice president revealed that if anyone thought she was anti-gun, they would be wrong.
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It wasn’t the first time Harris mentioned being a gun owner, which is why Winfrey questioned her about it during the “Unite for America” event, which was livestreamed Thursday night.
“If somebody breaks into my house, they’re getting shot,” Harris said before belting out her famous laugh that the MAGA world hates so much for whatever reason. “I probably should not have said that. My staff will deal with that later.”
Harris opened up about her gun ownership during a portion of the event focused on gun violence prevention. Before that, the audience heard from Natalie Griffith, a 15-year-old survivor shot twice by Colt Gray in the Georgia Apalachee High School shooting earlier this month. Natalie’s parents also attended the event with her.
“What are we doing?” Natalie’s mother, Marilda Griffith, asked. “We have a job, that job is to protect our children. We have to stop it.”
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Before Oprah asked Harris about her gun ownership, the VP said this:
“I think for far too long on the issue of gun violence, some people have been pushing a really false choice to say you’re either in favor of the Second Amendment or you want to take everyone’s guns away. I’m in favor of the second amendment, and I’m in favor of assault weapons bans, universal background checks, red flag laws.”
Harris isn’t wrong about the false dichotomy regarding gun regulation and Second Amendment rights. If there’s one thing conservatives are great at, it’s oversimplifying any and all issues in an effort to eliminate any semblance of critical thinking from the discussion. The debate would be much simpler for Republicans if it truly were a left vs. right or gun owners vs. gun haters issue. Yet, in truth, there are plenty of gun owners in America who believe in common sense gun regulation. The two concepts are far from mutually exclusive.
Vice President Kamala Harris Addresses Abortion Rights As A Life Or Death Crisis
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It’s worth mentioning that gun ownership and regulation weren’t the only controversial conversations Thursday night. Women’s reproductive rights also took the spotlight. This timely topic was too late for the tragic and avoidable death of Amber Thurman, who died after hospitals denied her post-abortion care due to uncertainty regarding Georgia’s anti-abortion laws.
From Reuters:
Shanette Williams, the mother of Amber Nicole Thurman, a 28-year old Georgia woman who died in August 2022 after a hospital treatment delay related to the state’s restrictive abortion laws, told the audience: “You’re looking at a mother that is broken, the worst pain ever that a mother, that a parent can ever feel.”Harris responded: “I’m just so sad. And the courage that you all have shown is extraordinary.” Many in the studio audience of about 400 were in tears.
Harris and Democrats have promised to restore national abortion rights impacted by a 2022 Supreme Court decision and pass a ban on assault weapons often used in mass shootings.
According to Harris’ campaign advisers, nearly 200,000 people signed up to watch the “Unite for America” event’s livestream, and its YouTube audience included nearly 100,000 viewers.
