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Fact Check: Harris and Walz Announced Assault Weapons Ban, Not Gun Ban, During Rally
By Taija PerryCook,
2024-08-09
Claim:
During a rally in August 2024, Vice President Kamala Harris and running mate Tim Walz announced a gun ban if they win the presidential election in November.
In a rally speech on Aug. 6, 2024, Harris said she and Walz will pass universal background checks, red flag laws and an assault weapons ban if she wins the presidential election in November. The pair did not announce a general "gun ban."
On Aug. 6, 2024, the National Rifle Association's X account posted a video of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris giving a speech while her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, stood behind her. In the clip, she said: "And together, when we win in November, we are finally going to pass universal background checks, red flag laws and an assault weapons ban."
In the X post, the NRA claimed the pair announced a "gun ban." They wrote: "HARRIS-WALZ ANNOUNCE GUN BAN," and, "T hey're coming for our guns. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz want to ban commonly owned firearms."
One X user replied: "Military grade assault weapons are commonly owned firearms?"
Although the footage was authentic, the claim Harris and Walz announced a gun ban was inaccurate.
Harris' full comments at the rally on the topic of guns were as follows (beginning at 25:29; emphasis ours):
So, Tim is a hunter and a gun owner who believes, as the majority of gun owners do, that we need reasonable gun safety laws in America. So as governor, he expanded background checks and increased penalties for illegal firearms sales. And together, when we win in November, we are finally going to pass universal background checks, red flag laws and an assault weapons ban.
During his speech at the same rally, Walz said (at 44:10 of the above video): "When the vice president and I talk about freedom, we mean the freedom to make your own health care decisions and for our children to be free to go to school without worrying they'll be shot dead in their classrooms. By the way, as you heard, I was one of the best shots in Congress, but in Minnesota we believe in the Second Amendment, but we also believe in common-sense gun violence laws."
What Does Harris Mean by 'Assault Weapons Ban'?
In July, the NRA also said Harris supported "gun confiscation," calling her an "existential threat to the Second Amendment." Although Harris did once support assault weapons buybacks , the Harris campaign confirmed with The New York Times in July 2024 that she supported banning assault weapons but did not support any buyback program requiring their sale to the federal government. The 1994 assault weapons ban Harris intends to reinstate made it unlawful for a person to manufacture, transfer or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon. The 10-year ban lapsed in 2004.
In short, she supports an assault weapons ban but not a requirement to sell them to the government.
In Sum...
While Harris and Walz expressed their support for the reinstatement of a ban on assault weapons, they did not announce a general "gun ban," as the NRA claimed. Therefore, we rated this claim "Mostly False."
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