Five Questions Fox News Should Ask Harris About Guns

AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Kamala Harris has agreed to do a sit-down interview with Bret Baier of Fox News on Wednesday afternoon, which gives Baier the opportunity to ask Harris several important questions about her claims of gun ownership and her extensive history of supporting extreme gun control measures like a ban and confiscation of handguns. 

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I'm sure that Baier will ask Harris about a number of issues, but this is probably the best chance to pin her down on the anti-gun extremism she's embraced over the years. Baier could easily spend the entire interview delving into her anti-2A record, but I doubt that will happen. There are, however, some critical questions that Harris and her campaign team have repeatedly refused to answer that the Fox anchor needs to ask on the record. 

  • Do you believe the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a handgun, and if so, when did you change your mind? 
  • You've said you own a Glock, which are considered "unsafe" handguns under California law. Why did you buy that particular pistol?
  • In 2007 you told gun owners in San Francisco, "Just because you legally possess a gun in the sanctity of your locked home doesn't mean that we're not going to walk into that home and check to see if you're being responsible." How would that not violate the Fourth Amendment? 
  • In 2019, you called for a mandatory "buyback" of so-called assault weapons, but your campaign now says you no longer support that policy even though you still say that these guns "don't belong on the streets of a civil society". How do you define "assault weapon", and what do you propose to do with the 20+ million semi-automatic long guns currently possessed by lawful owners, and would you sign an "assault weapons" ban that included confiscation or mandated gun owners hand over their modern sporting rifles to the government? 
  • In 2022, you said the Supreme Court's decision recognizing a right to carry a firearm "defies common sense and the Constitution". Why do you believe the right to keep and bear arms doesn't encompass a right to bear arms in public for self-defense? 
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As much as I'd like to see Harris asked how often she goes to the range or whether she used her position as a prosecutor to purchase an "off-roster" handgun, those questions aren't nearly as important as grilling Harris on her anti-2A stances over the years. Harris and her campaign won't say if she still holds to the idea that the Second Amendment doesn't protect an individual right to keep and bear arms, but it's far easier to say "no comment" or speak on background to a print reporter than it is to duck the question during a televised interview. 

With Harris actively courting gun owners while running away from her long record of anti-2A activism, it's incumbent on Baier to delve into her past statements and policy positions that are squarely at odds with treating keeping and bearing arms as a fundamental right. We don't need any more softball questions like "have you ever shot a gun?" We need a real inquiry into Harris's hostility towards the Second Amendment, and Baier's sit-down is the perfect opportunity to put her on the record about her past and present support for banning some of the most popular firearms in the country. 

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