Vice President Kamala Harris had a matter-of-fact response Wednesday when Oprah Winfrey told her she was surprised she was a gun owner, saying, “If somebody breaks into my house, they’re getting shot.”
Winfrey hosted the vice president for an at-times tear-inducing rally event in Michigan that featured a diverse array of participants, both in-person and virtually.
Harris heard from Natalie Griffith, a victim of this month’s deadly shooting at Georgia’s Apalachee High School, as well as the 15-year-old’s mother and father.
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Harris agreed with Griffith’s father, Doug, who urged “common sense.”
“I think for far too long on the issue of gun violence, some people have been pushing a really false choice: to suggest you’re either in favor of the Second Amendment or you want to take everyone’s guns away,” Harris said. “I’m in favor of the Second Amendment and I’m in favor of assault weapons bans, universal background checks, red flag laws.”
When Winfrey said she hadn’t expected Harris to own a gun, Harris replied, “If somebody breaks into my house, they’re getting shot.”
“But here’s my point, Oprah,” she continued. “I’m not trying to take everyone’s guns away.”
Harris would go on to reject Donald Trump’s response to a shooting at an Iowa school in January when he said, “We have to get over it.”
“My opponent heard about a shooting and said, ‘Get over it.’ No, we’re not getting over it,” Harris said. “I have personally prosecuted homicide cases. I’ve seen autopsies. I’ve seen what these weapons do to the human body. Assault weapons are literally designed to be a tool of war. It has no place on the streets of a civil society.”
Among the other topics that came up Thursday were reproductive rights.
Harris heard from the mother and sisters of Amber Nicole Thurman, who died needing medical care that Georgia’s Republican legislators had made a felony in the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned. Thurman’s death was preventable, Thurman’s mother said, with Harris agreeing.
“I’m just so sorry. And the courage that you all have shown is extraordinary, also because you just learned about how it is that she died,” Harris said. “Amber’s mom shared with me that the word, over and over again in her mind, is ‘preventable.’”
“This story is sadly not the only story of what has been happening since these bans,” Harris continued, alluding to another audience member who has been sharing her story: Hadley Duvall, a Kentucky resident who was raped and impregnated by her stepfather when she was 12.
Ten states—Kentucky included—currently don’t allow for abortion in the case of rape or incest, according to non-partisan health policy organization KFF.
“The courage for you to tell these stories to help other people,” Harris commended, “is just extraordinary.”
After about 90 minutes of discussion, Winfrey concluded the event with an earnest appeal to undecided voters.
“For all of you watching who are still on the fence, in the middle, independent as I am, or whether you just still don’t know what you’re going to do, this is the moment for all decent and caring people who want the best for yourself and other people,” Winfrey urged.
“This is the moment for people who are tired of all of the bickering and all of the name-calling, people who are exhausted by the craziness and the made-up stories and the conspiracies. This is the moment you want to get on with your life because you know that we can do better and that we deserve better,” she continued. “You know this. I know you know this. I know you feel this. I know this is what you're saying amongst yourselves… We’re better than this… So let’s do better and vote for Kamala Harris.”
