Vice President Kamala Harris defended her gun ownership and said she would use a firearm to protect her home in a conversation with Oprah Winfrey on Thursday night.
Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, appeared at an event called Unite for America in Michigan, where she spoke with Winfrey about a slate of policy issues, including immigration, access to reproductive health care and her support for common-sense gun reform. During a candid moment, Winfrey asked Harris about her remarks during the debate last week against Donald Trump when she confirmed she is a gun owner.
“I’m a gun owner; Tim Walz is a gun owner,” Harris said.
“I did not know that,” Winfrey replied.
“If somebody breaks into my house, they’re getting shot,” Harris added. “Probably should not have said that. But my staff will deal with that later.”
Her remarks came after a segment featuring families affected by gun violence and school shootings. The vice president said she could be both a gun owner who supports the Second Amendment as well as a politician calling for gun law reforms.
“Look, I think for far too long on the issue of gun violence, some people have been pushing a really false choice to suggest you’re either in favour of the Second Amendment or you want to take everyone’s guns away,” Harris said. “I’m in favour of the Second Amendment, and I’m in favour of assault weapons bans, universal background checks, red flag laws. And these are just common sense.”
The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to questions about the vice president’s comments or how long she has been a gun owner. Reuters noted she said she was a skilled shooter during an interview with Politico in 2015. She added at the time she had shot a gun “many times.”
She also told reporters in 2019 that she owned a gun.
“I own a gun for probably the reason a lot of people do — for personal safety,” she said at the time. “I was a career prosecutor.”
You can watch Harris’ full remarks on her gun ownership here: