Last week’s mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia briefly brought gun violence back to the forefront of the presidential race, but the issue didn’t get much oxygen during the debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday night. The debate did surface a fact that hasn’t gotten much attention: Tim Walz isn’t the only gun owner on the Democratic ticket.
After Trump said that Harris “has a plan to confiscate everybody’s gun” — twice — Harris felt it necessary to correct the record. “Tim Walz and I are both gun owners,” she said. “We aren’t taking anyone’s guns away so stop with the continuous lying about this stuff.”
It’s true: Harris disclosed during her first run for president in 2019 that “I own a gun for probably the reason a lot of people do – for personal safety. I was a career prosecutor.” A campaign aide later clarified that the gun in question is a handgun.
There are no photos circulating of Harris shooting an AR or going hunting like of other political candidates (from both parties). But, like Harris, many gun owners support universal background checks.
Harris has backed gun safety regulations throughout her political career and has taken a prominent role in the Biden administration’s gun policy work. By contrast, Trump — who is also a gun owner — has positioned himself as a staunch defender of the Second Amendment and aligned with the interests of gun lobbying groups like the National Rifle Association. If reelected, Trump is expected to resist new restrictions on guns, observers say.
Still, some Second Amendment experts say that potential success of either of the two candidates in passing gun legislation will depend on Congress, and whether lawmakers can overcome a potential filibuster. The Trace’s Alma Beauvais breaks down the candidates’ records on guns and the policies they might pursue if elected in November.
From The Trace
- What Harris and Trump Might Do About Guns If Elected: Heading into the presidential candidates’ first debate, we take a look at their records on guns and the policies they might pursue as commander in chief.
- Inside David Hogg’s $8M Bid to Elect Young Progressives: The Parkland school shooting survivor’s PAC has spent millions in state elections nationwide and is already claiming wins at the ballot box.
- Kamala Harris’s Record on Guns (July 2024): Groups on both sides of the gun debate have weighed in on Harris’s presidential bid. The reactions reflect her work on gun issues over 20-plus years in politics.
What to Know Today
The mother of the gunman at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, called the school and warned a counselor about an “extreme emergency” on the morning of the mass shooting, which left four people dead and nine injured. The shooter is charged with four counts of felony murder, while his father is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children. [ABC News/The Washington Post]
Mental health professionals stress the importance of quickly responding to the needs of survivors following a school shooting because they may immediately show signs of distress. If they don’t, survivors are at risk of developing long-term issues including anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, sleep disturbances, intrusive flashbacks of the event, and a lack of trust in and fear of the world around them. [CNN]
Since the beginning of last year, Philadelphia taxpayers have paid nearly $60 million in federal lawsuits over police misconduct — the fastest spending pace on such cases in recent memory, according to an analysis by The Inquirer. The payouts range from a few thousand dollars for accusations of false arrests or excessive force to several million for wrongful convictions, often filed by those who were released from prison and accused detectives of flawed or corrupt investigations. [The Philadelphia Inquirer]
Police raided a Detroit house and uncovered an illegal 3D-printed gun operation, where firearms were allegedly being made to be sold. The joint effort by the Detroit Police Department and Homeland Security also led to the arrest of a 14-year-old facing felony weapons charges after authorities intercepted a package containing a Glock switch from China. [CBS News]
Illinois Democratic lawmakers and firearm safety advocates are pushing for stronger gun storage legislation. The proposed law would require gun owners to securely lock weapons in homes where anyone aged 18 or younger is present. Current state law requires storage in homes with children 13 or younger. [Chicago Sun-Times]
Online threats against several schools in four southern New Jersey districts led to school closures and canceled classes for almost 6,000 students on September 9. Police said two youths from Woodbury and one from Glassboro were arrested. [North Jersey]
More than 160,000 calls were made to Congress for gun reform using AI-recreated voices of gun violence victims, including that of 10-year-old Uziyah Garcia, who died in the 2022 Uvalde school shooting. The Shotline effort is a collaboration between March for Our Lives and Change the Ref, both founded after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. [Houston Public Media]
This section was written by Alma Beauvais.
Data Point
$60 million — the amount that police misconduct lawsuits have cost Philadelphia taxpayers since the beginning of 2023. [The Philadelphia Inquirer]
Non Sequitur
On off-topic story for a change of pace.
Robot controlled by a king oyster mushroom blends living organisms and machines: “Powered by conventional electricity via plug or battery, these simple robotic creations would be unremarkable, but what sets these two robots apart is that they are controlled by a living entity: a king oyster mushroom.” [CNN]
