Kamala Harris said she would take significant action to curb spiraling U.S. gun violence, an effort by the California senator and former prosecutor to own the gun-control issue in a crowded 2020 Democratic presidential field, Politico reports. Harris announced her plans during a CNN town hall, pledging that if Congress does not enact major gun legislation, including universal background checks, closing the “boyfriend loophole,” and repealing a law that prevents victims from holding gunmakers and dealers liable for their losses, she would take executive action in her first 100 days as president. “Supposed leaders … have failed to have the courage to reject a false choice which says you’re either in favor of the Second Amendment or you want to take everyone’s guns away,” she said
Bolstering gun control has been a key point for Harris on the campaign trail, where gun-related portions of her remarks often generate some of the loudest applause. Harris, who owns a gun for protection, offers a unique background for a candidate trying to make the issue her own. Some of Harris’ biggest moments early in her campaign have revolved around guns, including the impassioned plea she made in January in another CNN town hall, invoking the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting in which 20 children were killed in 2012. As California attorney general, she took on a 2014 ruling that deemed unconstitutional the state’s 10-day waiting period for gun purchases; the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with Harris’ stance. As San Francisco district attorney, she backed increased bail for defendants facing gun-related charges, a move that could disproportionately affect people of color.