No evidence Harris said she will end Second Amendment | Fact check

Andre Byik, USA TODAY
·4 min read
35

The claim: Harris said she will 'end the Second Amendment'; Walz backed AR-15 ban

An Aug. 25 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows quotes purportedly from Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz about gun restrictions.

"'I will use an executive order to end the second amendment.' – Kamala Harris," one quote reads.

"'We will confiscate all weapons of war starting with AR15's.' – Tim Walz," reads the other.

The post includes photos of Harris and Walz, the Democratic nominees for president and vice president, set against the Venezuelan flag.

The post was shared more than 300 times in five days.

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Our rating: False

The quotes are fabricated. There is no credible evidence that Harris or Walz made the statements attributed to them.

Harris and Walz support gun control policies, but quotes are fabricated

Harris' campaign website says the Biden-Harris administration enacted "the first meaningful gun safety reform in decades," referring to a bipartisan bill President Joe Biden signed into law in June 2022, a month after the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The law enhances background checks on gun buyers who are 18–21 years old, encourages states to develop better "red flag" laws and adds dating partners to the list of domestic abusers who are prohibited from buying firearms.

The vice president also took on a visible role addressing gun safety in Biden's administration. She oversaw the newly created White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, which the White House said focuses on implementing executive and legislative action to "end the scourge of gun violence in America."

And during her first presidential rally of the 2024 election cycle, Harris said she would work to "finally pass red flag laws, universal background checks and an assault weapons ban."

But there is no evidence Harris has said she would "use an executive order to end the Second Amendment," as claimed in the Facebook post. No reliable news outlets reported that Harris made the purported statement. The post also doesn't provide a source of the supposed quote.

And while Harris pledged in 2019 during her first presidential campaign to take executive action on guns, she did not say she would end or repeal the Second Amendment, a move the National Constitution Center says would require a constitutional amendment. Article V of the Constitution lays out the requirements to propose and ratify such an amendment, none of which allow the president to unilaterally change the Constitution.

During a CNN presidential town hall in 2019, Harris said if Congress didn't act within 100 days upon her taking office, she would take executive action to institute new background check requirements for certain gun sellers, empower the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to revoke licenses from gun dealers who break the law and implement purchase restrictions for fugitives.

Fact check: Supposed Harris pledge to harm 'Trumpers,' ignore Constitution is fabricated

As Minnesota's governor, Walz has also been a proponent of stricter gun control measures. In 2023, he signed into law restrictions on firearm possession and purchases, including subjecting more gun sales to background checks and implementing "red flag" protections to keep guns out of the hands of people deemed to be a danger to themselves or others, Minnesota Public Radio reported.

He's also used the phrase "weapons of war" that is mentioned in the Facebook post. In a 2018 video circulated by the Harris campaign, Walz speaks about pushing for background checks, government research on gun violence and making "sure that those weapons of war that I carried in war is the only place where those weapons are at." (The Associated Press reported that the Harris campaign later said Walz misspoke about carrying weapons in a combat zone.)

And footage of Walz saying Minnesota can be part of a national effort to "get these weapons of war off the streets" has been circulated on social media by the pro-gun lobby Gun Owners of America.

But like the purported Harris quote, there is no evidence Walz has pledged to "confiscate all weapons of war starting with AR-15s." No reliable news outlets reported that Walz made the supposed comment. And the Facebook post provides no source for the alleged quote.

Harris' campaign website describes Walz as a gun owner, hunter and supporter of the Second Amendment who believes Congress must do more to address gun violence.

USA TODAY reached out to the Harris campaign, Walz's gubernatorial office and the Facebook user who shared the post but did not immediately receive responses.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No evidence for purported Harris, Walz quotes on guns | Fact check

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