Laura Loomer Accuses Kamala Harris of ‘Hypocrisy’ Over Gun Remarks

Laura Loomer has accused Kamala Harris of being a hypocrite, after the Democratic presidential nominee spoke about her personal gun ownership while campaigning on gun control.
The former congressional candidate posted a clip of Harris speaking to Oprah Winfrey in which Harris says that she and her running mate Tim Walz are both gun owners, and states: “If somebody breaks in my house, they’re getting shot.”
Oprah has endorsed Harris and hosted a two-hour Unite for America streaming session in Michigan featuring an in-depth interview with Harris and questions from the audience Thursday. The question of gun ownership occurred during a section of the livestream that was addressing school shootings.
Loomer, who campaigns for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, reposted what Harris said to her X account, however she edited Harris’ words from “they’re getting shot” to “they gon’ get shot.” Whether intentionally or not, Loomer quoted Harris as using African American Vernacular English (AAVE).
Loomer accused Harris of hypocrisy, claiming that Harris wants to “take away people’s guns,” but wants to keep her own.
Laura Loomer has been contacted via her website for comment.
Several people in Loomer’s comments section agreed with her accusation of hypocrisy, and expressed doubt that Harris is a gun owner at all.
Loomer has become known for attacking Harris. On September 8, Loomer wrote about the vice president on X, saying: “If Kamala Harris wins, the White House will smell like curry & White House speeches will be facilitated via a call center and the American people will only be able to convey their feedback through a customer satisfaction survey at the end of the call that nobody will understand.”
Harris and Walz have both been open about being gun owners. At the Presidential debate Harris said: “This business about taking everyone’s guns away—Tim Walz and I are both gun owners. We’re not taking anybody’s guns away, so stop with the continuous lying about this stuff.”
Harris previously spoke about being a gun owner in 2019, while on the campaign trail for the Democratic Primary.
Minnesota Governor Walz is also known for sinking from an “A” approval rating to an “F” from the NRA after enforcing stricter gun controls following the Parkland shooting in 2018.
The Harris campaign has not expressed a desire to “take away” all guns, a point she made clear in the interview with Oprah. However, she is campaigning on banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. She is also running on requiring universal background checks.
A spokesperson for the Harris campaign told Newsweek that the VP has been clear about her gun control positions. They cited Harris’ policy page on gun control which states: “She’ll ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, require universal background checks, and support red flag laws that keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people.
“She will also continue to invest in funding law enforcement, including the hiring and training of officers and people to support them, and will build upon proven gun violence prevention programs”
Harris currently oversees the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, where she launched the nation’s first National Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) Resource Center, which is built to assist law enforcement in “optimizing the use of red-flag laws.”
Many of the gun control measures that Harris is running on, such as background checks, and enforcing red flag laws, are highly popular among the electorate. According to recent Pew polling, six in ten Americans believe it is too easy for people to obtain a firearm, and favor stricter gun laws.
Banning assault weapons is also largely popular, although more divided along partisan lines, where 42 percent of Republicans, and 85 percent of Democrats support a ban.
Additionally, half of Americans see gun violence as a problem in the country, and see an increase in the number of guns as bad for society.
Update 9/20/24, 7:48 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include the request for comment from Loomer.
Update 9/20/24, 11:33 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include comment by the Harris campaign.