On Wednesday, January 20, Kamala Harris will not only become the first female vice president, but the first black woman and the first Asian American woman vice president. During last year's presidential campaign, Harris declared to The New York Times (opens in new tab) that she would sign an executive order "requiring background checks on customers of firearms dealers who sell more than five guns a year" if Congress did not act within the first 100 days. She also closed the boyfriend loophole (opens in new tab), banned assault weapons, and said fugitives would not be allowed to purchase any handguns or weapons.

Since these statements, she has remained consistent, stressing that it is possible to pass effective gun control legislation that will save millions of lives while at the same time preserving citizens' Second Amendment rights. (She is a gun owner, by the way (opens in new tab)). In August 2019, four months after the presidential statement, Harris again launched his gun control proposal as president (opens in new tab):

"As president, I will take the following executive actions:

→ revoke the licenses of law-breaking gun manufacturers and sellers

→ five guns per year

→ Ban the importation of AR-15 style assault weapons"

Of course, these proposals may change now that Biden is president-elect, but Biden has also maintained a strong stance on gun control. maintains a strong stance on regulation. He has a close relationship with Fred Guttenberg, father of Jamie Guttenberg (open in new tab), one of the 17 victims of the February 14, 2018, Parkland shooting, and has a history of fighting the National Rifle Association (NRA.) In 1993, Biden helped pass the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (open in new tab), which established a federal background check system. The following year, Biden and Senator Dianne Feinstein also passed a 10-year ban on assault weapons (opens in new tab) and high-capacity magazines.

The NRA knows that Biden and Harris have a strong stance on gun control. The gun rights advocacy group currently being sued by New York Attorney General Letitia James (open in new tab) attacked Harris and Biden on Twitter (open in new tab) shortly after Biden's vice presidential announcement, claiming that "Harris' presidential campaign announced an extreme gun control agenda that died shortly after" (open in new tab), claiming (open in new tab).

The NRA's tweet is false, but it is quite telling of where Harris stands on gun control (open in new tab). Two hours after Harris was officially named Biden's running mate, Everytown for Gun Safety (opens in new tab) sent an email to its subscribers stating that they "have a chance to elect the most powerful president and vice president for gun safety in American history."

The Biden administration's full plan for gun control measures can be read here (opens in new tab). These include banning the manufacture and sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, requiring background checks for all gun sales, ending online sales of firearms and ammunition, and closing various loopholes that allow gun purchases.