Freedom is on the ballot this year, and the choice couldn’t be clearer.
Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz are running on the fight for our freedoms—including freedom from gun violence.
Donald Trump and J.D. Vance are running on an extreme, guns everywhere agenda. Their ticket threatens to reverse the steepest decline in gun violence in a generation.
The choice in front of voters couldn’t be more stark.
Armed Extremism
Throughout her career, Kamala Harris has been a vocal advocate for reinstating a ban on assault weapons, the weapon of choice for mass shooters and extremists.
On the other hand, Donald Trump opposes bans on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines. He has repeatedly refused to condemn violence by right-wing extremists and his supporters, including white supremacists at Charlottesville, the El Paso mass shooter, and the Kenosha gunman. And Trump’s lies about the 2020 election led to a violent, armed insurrection on January 6, 2021, in an attempt to overturn the election. Now, he’s facing serious criminal charges.
Prohibit People With Dangerous Histories From Having Guns
As a U.S. Senator, Kamala Harris cosponsored the Disarm Hate Act. That legislation would have prohibited individuals convicted of all violent hate crimes from purchasing and possessing firearms. She also co-sponsored legislation to regulate dangerous firearms and accessories, including ghost guns.
Donald Trump, however, made it easier for people with dangerous histories to purchase guns. In January 2020, Trump decided to enable schematics for downloadable, untraceable guns to be posted online. That move could allow terrorists, convicted felons, and domestic abusers to 3D print untraceable weapons.
Trump also made it easier for people with mental illness to purchase guns when he quietly reversed an Obama-era regulation that ensured that the FBI’s “background check system had complete information.”
Trump’s running mate is no better. J.D. Vance supported the passage of an amendment that rolls back 30 years of common-sense precedent and practice around veteran mental health and gun access. An average of 4,600 veterans die by firearm suicide every year—nearly 13 deaths a day. With his support of the amendment, Vance played a role in removing a critical protection for veterans in crisis.
Background Checks and Common-Sense Gun Safety
Tim Walz championed gun safety during his gubernatorial race. Walz promised to “work to ensure that Minnesota passes universal background check legislation” and to “support increased funding for mental health services.” He also committed to “support additional restrictions that ensure that Minnesota keeps guns out of the hands of dangerous people.”
As a candidate, Kamala Harris promised to prioritize common-sense gun safety legislation, including:
- Implementing background checks on all gun sales;
- Closing the “boyfriend loophole” to make it harder for domestic abusers to purchase guns;
- Creating the most comprehensive federal background check system in history; and
- Revoking the licenses of gun manufacturers that break the law.
Both Kamala Harris and Tim Walz have delivered on their promises.
As governor, Tim Walz navigated a one-vote majority in the state Senate and a narrow margin in the state House to sign a critical public safety omnibus bill into law in 2023. This package included multiple foundational gun safety measures to:
- Close a dangerous gap in Minnesota’s background check law;
- Create an Extreme Risk law to limit firearm access by individuals in crisis;
- Expand access to community violence intervention funding; and
- Create new restrictions on the use of no-knock search warrants.
And as Vice President, Kamala Harris has played a critical role in the strongest gun safety administration in history. The Biden-Harris Administration broke the three-decade logjam on federal gun safety legislation to pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA).
By contrast, J.D. Vance publicly opposed BSCA and voted against its life-saving protections. And when Donald Trump had the chance to better our background checks, he refused. In 2019, the House of Representatives passed a universal background checks bill. The bipartisan legislation was supported by 93 percent of Americans. Yet it sat untouched and unpassed when Trump refused to support it.
Donald Trump and J.D. Vance staunchly, and proudly, oppose the common-sense reforms that will keep us safe. Trump and Vance both are against Extreme Risk laws, extremely popular measures that empower family members and law enforcement to ask a judge to temporarily remove a person’s guns when the person is showing warning signs of posing a risk to themselves or others.
“I’m a veteran, a hunter, and a gun owner. But I’m also a dad. And for many years, I was a teacher. I know basic gun safety isn’t a threat to my rights. It’s about keeping our kids safe. I had an A rating from the NRA. Now I get straight F’s. And I sleep just fine.”
—Minnesota Governor Tim Walz
Protecting Our Communities
Kamala Harris has overseen the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. This office has four key tasks:
- Implement the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act
- Think of new executive actions to combat the U.S. gun violence crisis
- Expand state and local partnerships so they have support in pushing forward as they take action against gun violence
- Build the first national gun violence emergency response system, providing support in the aftermath of tragedies for mental health, schools, communities, and small businesses.
In this role, Harris announced the Safer States Initiative, which outlined steps states should take to combat gun violence. Through this initiative, the White House will work with state officials to provide necessary resources for implementation.
The Biden-Harris Administration has fought to fully fund the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the federal law enforcement agency that protects the public from violent crime and regulates the gun industry. Trump and Vance want to defund or even abolish the ATF.
The Biden-Harris Administration has made gun violence prevention a key policy priority. But Trump and Vance want to eliminate funding for gun violence prevention laws, regulations, and research.
Standing Up to the Gun Lobby
Kamala Harris and Tim Walz know that freedom means Americans can live safe from gun violence, and they refuse to be in the pocket of the gun lobby that fuels this public health crisis.
Donald Trump has caved to the gun lobby at every turn. After receiving more than $30 million in political support from the NRA in 2016, Trump’s administration shaped policies at the NRA’s behest. After two horrific mass shootings were perpetrated within days in 2019, Trump said he would release policy proposals to take action against gun violence. But after former NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre asked Trump to “stop the games” around gun safety legislation, Trump obliged.
Years later, at the NRA’s Great American Outdoor Show, Trump remained proud of this decision. He bragged that he “did nothing” to address gun violence during his presidency and promised to roll back the Biden-Harris Administration’s progress on gun safety.
“It Doesn’t Have To Be This Way” vs. “Get Over It”
After the tragic mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia, Kamala Harris spoke out. “It’s outrageous that every day in our country, in the United States of America, that parents have to send their children to school worried about whether or not their child will come back home alive,” Harris said. “We have to end this epidemic of gun violence in our country once and for all … It doesn’t have to be this way.”
Meanwhile, J.D. Vance and Donald Trump say school shootings are “a fact of life” and that “we have to get over it.”
We’re Not Going Back
We need people in the White House who will work alongside survivors of gun violence to advocate for safer communities. We need leaders who will stand up to the gun industry and hold them accountable through legislation and oversight. And we need a ticket that will push back against the extremist, guns everywhere agenda that threatens our communities and law enforcement.
Freedom means Americans can live safe from gun violence. On November 5, Americans have a choice. We can show up and elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, who have proven that they can and will do something about gun violence. Or we can vote for Donald Trump and J.D. Vance, who will listen to the gun lobby, roll back critical protections, and do nothing to protect our kids, communities, and nation.
In This Election, Every Vote Counts
Get ready to support gun safety up and down the ballot. Click here to make a plan to vote to ensure you’re ready for Election Day.