--- title: Kamala Harris' Gun Ownership: Here's What We Know description: Kamala Harris owns a gun, and she has revealed a few details about it in recent years during both her presidential campaigns. canonical: https://time.com/7023078/kamala-harris-gun-ownership/ author: Solcyré Burga article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-09-20T16:57:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-01-19T12:45:38.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: What We Know About Kamala Harris' Gun Ownership og:description: Kamala Harris owns a gun, and she has revealed a few details about it in recent years during both her presidential campaigns. og:url: https://time.com/7023078/kamala-harris-gun-ownership/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7928dfe0be7d0604/698a5b1009208f3b3f41d9ca/Blue-.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Election 2024 Harris og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What We Know About Kamala Harris' Gun Ownership twitter:description: Kamala Harris owns a gun, and she has revealed a few details about it in recent years during both her presidential campaigns. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7928dfe0be7d0604/698a5b1009208f3b3f41d9ca/Blue-.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 01:13 video:published: 2024-09-20 section: politics topics: abortion rights, Roe v. Wade, health care crisis, state abortion bans, doctors and nurses, presidential campaign, gun ownership, home defense, legislation, livestream event genre: political event, livestream discussion tones: earnest, assertive, candid, humorous emotions: conviction (high), concern (medium), amusement (low) sentiment: neutral audience: US voters, political news followers, abortion rights advocates, gun policy followers people: Kamala Harris, Tim, Amber content_suitability: politics [00:10-00:42]; health controversy [00:17-00:48]; violence [00:48-01:02] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # What We Know About Kamala Harris' Gun Ownership > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=80e11464-699f-44ac-9a4c-d5e53303f349&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Vice President Kamala Harris Joins Oprah Live for "Unite for America" Event in Michigan [Watch (HLS stream): Vice President Kamala Harris Joins Oprah Live for "Unite for America" Event in Michigan](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/XFReS36Y.m3u8) (1:13)  _Published 2024-09-20. Vice President Kamala Harris looked for a boost with persuadable and less-motivated voters as she participated in a livestream Thursday evening with former talk show host Oprah Winfrey to focus on her plans to cut costs for the middle class, restore a national right to abortion and address gun violence._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary This short clip shows excerpts from a livestream discussion in which a speaker commits to signing a bill into law if elected president. The speaker criticizes state officials and the former president for presuming to decide when patients need medical care, and frames the overturning of Roe v. Wade as a health care crisis. A separate exchange touches on gun ownership and home defense, ending with a lighthearted remark about staff handling the comment later. ## Key points - Asked whether she will reintroduce a bill that did not pass, the speaker says she will ensure it reaches her desk and sign it into law if elected president. (00:10) - The speaker says certain people in state houses, starting with the former president, think they are better positioned than a doctor or nurse to decide when a patient needs medical care. (00:17) - A story referred to as 'Amber's story' is cited as highlighting what is wrong with abortion bans following the overturning of Roe v. Wade. (00:32) - The speaker describes the situation after the overturning of Roe v. Wade as a health care crisis. (00:42) - The speaker says the health care crisis affects both the patient and the medical profession. (00:43) - The speaker says she is a gun owner and states that someone breaking into her house would get shot. (00:48) - After the gun remark, the speaker jokes that she probably should not have said it and that her staff will deal with it later. (00:59) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:32] Pledge to sign bill, criticism of bans. The speaker promises to sign a bill into law if elected and criticizes politicians who override doctors and nurses on medical care. - [00:32 to 00:48] Abortion bans as a health care crisis. The speaker cites a patient's story and calls the aftermath of Roe v. Wade's overturning a health care crisis affecting patients and the profession. - [00:48 to 01:13] Gun ownership and home defense remark. The speaker says she is a gun owner who would shoot intruders, then jokes that her staff will deal with the comment later. ## Key quotes - [00:10] Kamala Harris: "Absolutely. And when I am elected president of the United States," - [00:14] Kamala Harris: "I will make sure that bill gets to my desk," - [00:42] Kamala Harris: "it's a health care crisis." - [00:48] Kamala Harris: "I'm a gun owner, Tim." - [01:02] Kamala Harris: "But my staff will deal with that later." ## Questions this video answers - Will the speaker reintroduce a bill that has not passed? [00:08] - What does the speaker say about who should decide when a patient needs medical care? [00:17] - How does the speaker characterize the overturning of Roe v. Wade? [00:32] - Who does the speaker say is affected by the health care crisis? [00:43] - Does the speaker own a gun, and what does she say about home intruders? [00:48] - How does the speaker react after making the remark about shooting intruders? [00:59] ## Content suitability - politics [00:10-00:42]: Campaign statements about a presidential candidacy and criticism of the former president and state officials over abortion bans. - health controversy [00:17-00:48]: Discussion of abortion bans, the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and a health care crisis affecting patients. - violence [00:48-01:02]: Speaker states that intruders breaking into her home would get shot.  by [Solcyré Burga](https://time.com/author/solcyre-burga/)  ## Solcyré Burga Reporter Updated: Jan 19, 2026 12:45 PM UTCPublished: Sep 20, 2024 4:57 PM UTC Vice President Kamala Harris looked for a boost with persuadable and less-motivated voters as she participated in a livestream Thursday evening with former talk show host Oprah Winfrey to focus on her plans to cut costs for the middle class, restore a national right to abortion and address gun violence.  by [Solcyré Burga](https://time.com/author/solcyre-burga/)  ## Solcyré Burga Reporter Updated: Jan 19, 2026 12:45 PM UTCPublished: Sep 20, 2024 4:57 PM UTC Kamala Harris owns a gun, and she has revealed a few details about it in recent years during both her presidential campaigns. In an interviewwith CBS News’ 60 Minutes Monday night, the Vice President revealed that she owns a Glock. She said she has owned it for “quite some time” and has fired before at a shooting range.“My background is in law enforcement,” Harris told CBS. “Of course I have \[shot it\].” The topic of gun ownership also came up during September’s [presidential debate](https://time.com/7019837/harris-trump-debate-highlights/). “Tim Walz and I are both gun owners. We’re not taking anybody’s guns away. So stop with the continuous lying about this stuff,” Harris said in response to her opponent former PresidentDonald Trump’s claim that she would take away people’s guns. Harris also jokingly told Oprah Winfrey that anyone who breaks into her home would be “getting shot” as she laughed in an exchange during a September fundraising event. She followed up saying, "Probably should not have said that. My staff will deal with that later." “I’m in favor of the Second Amendment and I’m in favor of assault weapons bans, universal background checks, red flag laws,” Harris told Winfrey during the “Unite for America” event. “These are just common sense.” The discussion about gun ownership is part of a broader Harris/Walz campaign strategy highlighting their stance on guns. The issue is contentious. About a third of U.S. adults own one, [according to the Pew Research Center.](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/07/24/key-facts-about-americans-and-guns/) But just this June, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy declared firearm violence a [public health crisis](https://time.com/6991431/u-s-surgeon-general-declares-firearm-violence-a-public-health-crisis/)—citing mass shootings, suicide, and other firearm-related deaths as evidence. Harris previously mentioned that she owned a gun during her 2020 bid in the Democratic primary. [She revealed](https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/11/politics/kamala-harris-gun-owner/index.html) she owned a gun for personal safety. A Harris aide [told CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/20/politics/gun-owner-kamala-harris/index.html) in September that her gun was a pistol tiny enough to fit in a small purse. On her campaign website, as part of her goal to “ensure safety and justice for all,” Harris wrote that she would fight to combat gun violence. Harris has levied her role as a prosecutor and district attorney in California—during which she says [she removed more than 12,000 illegal guns from the streets](https://kamalaharris.com/issues/)—as evidence of her hard stance on gun violence. Harris also cited her role as the head of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, where she worked on policies to expand background checks and close loopholes. On her campaign website, Harris said she would continue to “invest in funding law enforcement, including the hiring and training of officers and people to support them, and will build upon proven gun violence prevention programs that have helped reduce violent crime,” if she wins the presidency. ## Transcript [00:03] Question question. Now that that bill has gone and hasn't passed, [00:08] will you reintroduce that? [00:10] Absolutely. And when I am elected president of the United States, [00:14] I will make sure that bill gets to my desk, [00:16] and I will sign it into law. [00:17] Certain people who are in these state houses, [00:21] and then starting with the former president of the United States think they're [00:24] in a better position than a doctor or a nurse. [00:27] To determine when their patient needs medical care. [00:32] This literally an amber story highlights the fact that among [00:36] everything that is wrong with these bans and what has [00:39] happened in terms of the overturning of Roe Wade, [00:42] it's a health care crisis. [00:43] It's a health care crisis that affects the patient and the profession. [00:48] I'm a gun owner, Tim. [00:50] Does the guy know that. And so breaks in my house, they're getting shot. [00:56] Yes. Yes. I hear that. I hear that. [00:59] Probably should not have said that. [01:02] But my staff will deal with that later. 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