Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign’s shifting approach to gun control is critical to winning the support of moderate voters this election.
The Democratic presidential and vice-presidential candidates have been cautious this election season with their discussion of the topic and strategically planned events meant to sway gun owners’ views. This election season, the Democratic candidates have trodden lightly on the subject and strategically planned events intended to garner support from gun owners.
Harris’s first major outreach to the gun-owning voter base was the selection of her running mate, Tim Walz. Walz served as a representative of Minnesota in Congress from 2005-2018 and has served as governor of Minnesota since 2019. During Walz’s third term in the House of Representatives, the National Rifle Association gave him an “A” rating, a rating given to politicians who have a record of upholding the Second Amendment according to the NRA.
He would lose this rating in 2018 after he took a stronger stance on gun control following the rising tide of mass shootings. Despite the loss of NRA support, Walz still maintains that he is a strong supporter of safe gun ownership and appeals to both moderate liberals and conservatives on this issue.
On Oct. 12, he made a point to have his pheasant hunt in Minnesota reported on, putting his support for gun ownership on full display as he brandished his Beretta shotgun for cameras.
Kamala Harris has also discussed her pro-gun ownership views in the past few months since entering the race, humorously referring to her own Glock handgun in her interview with Oprah and “60 Minutes.” She shares Walz’s sentiments of being a proud gun owner while also advocating for gun control measures such as background checks and bans on automatic rifles.
The highlighting of the candidates’ pro-gun beliefs appears to be a clever attempt to sway moderate to conservative voters who are on the fence this election, but unfortunately, it has also caused some confusion when it comes to policy plans.
Since 2019, Harris claimed to be in full support of gun buyback programs as a means of getting assault rifles out of circulation, but this year she has pulled her support of these plans. Her hesitation to support these plans seems to come from her hope to dismiss Donald Trump’s repeated claims that a Harris administration would see the confiscation of a majority of American firearms. Replying to Trump in the Sept. 10 debate, she said, “We’re not taking anybody’s guns away, so stop with the continuous lying about this stuff.”
This statement could be considered contradictive, as she promises to pass an assault weapon ban on her campaign website.
Many other key issues have overshadowed gun control in this election, from abortion rights to the conflict in Palestine, however, gun control policy is still important to most American voters. Although she may want to garner support from moderates, she must make her message more clear to the American people about the actions she wishes to take against assault weapons. It is not something that needs to be shied away from over fears of losing moderate votes.
According to polling from the Pew Research Center, 64% of Americans supported an assault weapons ban, 42% of whom leaned Republican.
Maintaining a clear stance on her gun control positions is extremely important to convey to the American people that she is a strong and dependable leader. Her attempts to appear as a moderate, pro-gun Democrat are bold in such a divided political landscape, but it is important for her to be honest and consistent about her agendas as any leader should.
This story was written by John O’Shea. He can be reached at [email protected]
