Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris recently claimed in an interview that Donald Trump will gut the First and Second Amendments if elected, while portraying herself as a defender of our freedoms.
“When [Trump] says he wants to terminate the Constitution of the United States? You know what that would mean? In the Constitution of the United States is your Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable search and seizure, your Fifth Amendment right, your Sixth Amendment right to an attorney. Right?” said Harris in an interview on Club Shay Shay, a podcast hosted by former NFL player and Super Bowl champion Shannon Sharpe.
“The First Amendment, the Second Amendment,” Harris said before specifically noting that she is “in favor” of the Second Amendment. Trump “wants to terminate the Constitution of the United States,” said Harris.
Harris’ comments are grossly untrue. Trump’s track record on the Second Amendment during his presidency was very pro-freedom. Trump, for example, nominated three U.S. Supreme Court justices who played a crucial part in the landmark case New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen in 2022.
Trump also announced the removal of the United States from the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty at the 2019 NRA Annual Meeting. Trump also designated gun stores and shooting ranges as “essential businesses” so that they could stay open despite the whims of local and state officials who sought to close them during the outset of the COVID pandemic.
For these reasons and more, Trump has been endorsed by the NRA Political Victory Fund (PVF) yet again.
Speaking at the 2024 NRA Leadership Forum in Dallas, Texas, Trump said, “The NRA has stood with me from the very beginning. And, with your vote, I will stand strong for your rights and liberties.”
Indeed, in response, the Trump War Room posted on X: “Kamala just claimed that President Trump will take away the 1st amendment and 2nd amendment. Her administration censored people who criticized their covid policies — She is on camera multiple times saying she wants gun confiscation. What a joke.”
It’s also worth pointing out Kamala’s own lengthy record against freedom, particularly when it comes to the Second Amendment. Her campaign issues page touts her desire to ban commonly owned semi-automatic rifles and “high-capacity” magazines. It also praises her tenure as head of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention—an office staffed with gun-control activists.
Harris also said during her 2020 presidential campaign that if Congress did not pass her preferred gun-control policies within 100 days, she would take executive action to circumvent the legislative branch. “Upon being elected, I will give the United States Congress 100 days to get their act together and have the courage to pass reasonable gun safety laws. And if they fail to do it, then I will take executive action,” said Harris.
And, in her role as San Francisco district attorney, Harris openly opposed the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision D.C. v. Heller (2008), which dismantled D.C.’s handgun ban. She also claimed in 2007 that the government can walk right into your home to enforce its agenda—Fourth Amendment notwithstanding.
“The contrast between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump’s approach to the Second Amendment is as sharp as the contrast between the former’s political gamesmanship and the latter’s raw courage. This election season, gun owners have perhaps the final chance to ensure a future that includes the right to keep and bear arms. That future begins with a vote for Donald J. Trump,” wrote Randy Kozuch, executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action (ILA).
