In Talking About ‘Freedom,’ Harris Hopes She Has a Winning Message on Guns

The vice president is talking about firearms in a new way for a Democrat — by co-opting the language of Republicans.

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A firearms store in Lewiston, Maine, last year. Vice President Harris has said that she owns a firearm and is “in favor of the Second Amendment.”

When President Bill Clinton asked House Democrats to pass an assault weapons ban in 1994, their leaders begged him to back off, fearing the vote would cost them their seats. They were right. Democrats lost the House for the first time in 40 years, blamed the assault weapons ban and let it expire. They have struggled ever since to figure out a winning gun safety message.

Now comes Vice President Kamala Harris, who is talking about guns in a new way for a Democrat — by co-opting the language of Republicans.

She has promised Americans “the freedom to be safe from gun violence,” including in her first campaign ad, and told Oprah Winfrey that she owned a gun and that if someone breaks into her home, “they’re getting shot.” In doing so, Ms. Harris has upended Democratic stereotypes and reframed the conversation around guns — even as she vows to reinstate the lapsed ban, a long-sought goal of many in the party.

“It is a false choice to suggest you are either in favor of the Second Amendment or you want to take everyone’s guns away,” Ms. Harris declared last month at a White House ceremony in which President Biden signed two executive orders related to gun safety. “I am in favor of the Second Amendment, and I believe we need to reinstate the assault weapons ban.”

Advocates of gun safety legislation say the vice president has leaned into the issue like few presidential candidates before her. Democrats hope her message will appeal to a constituency that is critical to winning the election: moderate, undecided voters in swing states — especially suburban women, who are deeply concerned about school shootings.

“It won’t get the right-wing male Trump voter, ” who makes voting decisions based on the endorsements of the National Rifle Association, said the Democratic pollster Celinda Lake. “But I think the freedom narrative is going to bring over a lot of people like the Michigan hunter — and his wife may hunt too — who doesn’t believe you need an AR-15 to hunt a deer.”

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