Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprising admission during a campaign event with Oprah Winfrey on Thursday night, stating that she would use her gun to defend herself if someone broke into her home.
The conversation began with Harris revealing that she is a gun owner, which caught Oprah off guard. “I’m a gun owner. Tim Walz is a gun owner,” Harris said, prompting Oprah to exclaim, “I did not know that.”
Harris then made her stance on self-defense clear, saying, “If somebody breaks into my house, they’re getting shot.” This statement is not out of character for Harris, who has previously spoken about owning a gun for personal safety.
In 2019, Harris told CNN that she owns a gun “for probably the reason a lot of people do — for personal safety.” However, her views on gun ownership become more nuanced when it comes to other contexts.
For example, Harris has spoken out against allowing teachers to be armed in the classroom for self-defense. In a 2024 speech to the American Federation of Teachers, she mocked “extremists” who advocate for arming teachers, suggesting that this approach is not a viable solution for ensuring school safety.
Harris’s stance on gun ownership highlights the complexities of the issue and the varying perspectives that exist within the Democratic Party.
