JD Vance created fresh backlash this week after making comments on school shootings and gun ownership days after a deadly attack at the Apalachee High School in Georgia on Wednesday morning.
The Republican vice president nominee for the 2024 election angered many who believed he suggested such shootings were a “fact of life” the day after the tragedy in Georgia, in which two 14-year-old students and two teachers were killed.
Vance also used the speech to attack Kamala Harris, suggesting the Democratic presidential nominee plans to take away guns from “law-abiding American citizens.”
US Senator and Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance speaks during a campaign event at Arizona Biltmore Resort in Phoenix, Arizona, on September 5, 2024. Vance told crowds that Kamala Harris intended to take guns from “law-abiding American citizens.”
OLIVIER TOURON/AFP via Getty Images
The Claim
At a speech in Phoenix, Arizona, on September 5, 2024, JD Vance spoke about the Georgia High School shooting and plans to deal with gun violence.
“And yes, after holding these folks up in prayer and giving them our sympathies, because that’s what people deserve in a time of tragedy, then we have to think about how to make this less common,” Vance said.
“Now, look, the Kamala Harris answer to this is to take law-abiding American citizens’ guns away from them. That is what Kamala Harris wants to do.”
The Facts
The Biden administration has taken action on gun control and Harris has a record of supporting it, but the claim that she wants to take guns away lacks context.
The most recent and significant gun control legislation the administration helped enact the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
It created new penalties for “straw purchasing,” strengthened laws intended to keep firearms from domestic abusers and gun traffickers, and created new funding for states to administer “red flag” laws, allowing courts to order guns to be kept away from people deemed to be a danger to themselves or others.
However, it dropped any push to ban military-style rifles to shore up support among Republicans.
Harris has shown support for gun buyback laws and supported red flag laws, announcing as vice president earlier this year new resources to help states implement red flag policy, worth millions in funding.
At a campaign rally in Wisconsin in July, Harris reiterated her support for gun control and safety legislation, saying: “We, who believe that every person should have the freedom to live safe from the terror of gun violence, will finally pass red flag laws, universal background checks, and an assault weapons ban.”
In 2023, she was appointed by President Biden to oversee the newly created White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, created to see through the president’s executive actions on the issue. Earlier this year she announced a new gun sale rule in a bid to crack down on the so-called “gun show loophole.”
Harris said: “I am proud to announce that all gun dealers now must conduct background checks no matter where or how they sell their merchandise.”
However, Harris has also said that she supports the 2nd Amendment and that she rejects the idea that the rights of the Amendment are not incompatible with gun safety.
Running mate Tim Walz is a hunter too and has spoken openly of his support for 2nd Amendment rights while supporting Harris’ agenda on firearms.
There is no suggestion that Harris wants to make weapon ownership illegal and Vance’s comments lack the context to understand her thoughts and plans.
Newsweek has contacted media representatives for JD Vance and Kamala Harris for comment.
The Ruling
False.
The Biden-Harris administration has helped enact new restrictions on the sale of weapons and Harris has shown broad support for gun control and safety policies including red flag laws, buyback schemes, and an assault weapon ban.
However, she has not said that she wants to confiscate guns from Americans and has said she supports the 2nd Amendment.
FACT CHECK BY Newsweek’s Fact Check team
