Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris once threatened to use databases of gun owners to send police to their homes to confiscate firearms.
Ms. Harris described her gun control stance in August 2019 at a Democratic presidential primary forum that took place shortly after two deadly mass shootings in California and Texas.
She said she was “prepared to take executive action” to implement comprehensive background checks, crack down on gun dealers and ban the import of so-called assault weapons.
Ms. Harris said she knew how to enforce tough gun laws because as California attorney general she allowed police to “knock on the doors of people” on a state list of prohibited gun owners and people deemed a danger to themselves and others.
“We sent law enforcement out to take those guns because we have to deal with this on all levels.”
The Harris campaign did not respond to a request for comment about her current stance on the government seizing Americans’ firearms.
Last March, Ms. Harris announced the launch of the first-ever National Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) Resource Center, which will support the implementation of state red flag laws.
Extreme Risk Protection Orders generally establish a civil process for law enforcement, that can begin with family members or others seeking a judicial order that a person is a danger to themselves or others and should temporarily lose the ability to purchase and possess firearms.
The Resource Center is funded by a Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance grant made possible by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and is run by the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions.
The Center is already facing opposition from almost 20 attorneys general in GOP-run states. They say the ERPO Resource Center advocates for laws that “suspend fundamental rights under the Second Amendment with no genuine due process.”
“The solution to gun violence is not more bureaucracy, and it is certainly not parting otherwise law-abiding men and women from their right to self-defense,” they said in a letter in April to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland about the National ERPO Resource Center.
More recently, unnamed Harris campaign advisers told The New York Times that she no longer supported a mandatory buyback of civilian-owned “assault weapons” or several other progressive policy stances she took during the 2020 presidential race.
John Feinblatt of the gun-control advocacy group Everytown lauded Ms. Harris’ time as the head of the White House’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention, where she spearheaded efforts to eliminate gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability, ban “assault weapons” and expand background checks for gun purchases.
“There’s a reason Vice President Harris was tapped to oversee the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention: She’s long been a steadfast and effective champion of common sense laws to create safer communities,” Mr. Feinblatt said in a statement. “The ‘guns everywhere’ agenda promoted by Trump and Vance flies in the face of both common sense and public opinion, and Everytown’s top priority will be helping Vice President Harris counter their violent vision and win in November.”
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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