It’s no secret that Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris doesn’t respect the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2008, then-San Francisco District Attorney Harris argued that the Second Amendment does not protect an individual right to keep and bear arms. As it turns out, Harris doesn’t respect the Fourth Amendment either.
In a resurfaced, and now viral, video, Harris advocates for government officials to have the power to intrude into law-abiding gun owners’ locked homes to inspect their firearm storage arrangements.
Harris stated,
We're going to require responsible behaviors among everybody in the community, and just because you legally possess a gun in the sanctity of your locked home doesn't mean that we're not going to walk into that home and check to see if you're being responsible and safe in the way you conduct your affairs.
This shocking attack on the Bill of Rights took place during a May 16, 2007 press conference to promote San Francisco gun control legislation pushed by Mayor Gavin Newsom and DA Harris. The press conference, in its entirety, is available in the San Francisco Government TV video archive.
The government intrusion Harris suggests is unconstitutional. The Fourth Amendment provides,
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
In the United States, government agents can’t simply barge into Americans’ homes to root around for illegal conduct. Barring a discrete set of exigent circumstances that are not applicable to the topic at hand, a search of a home requires the consent of the property holder or a warrant. A warrant requires probable cause that a crime has been committed, is ongoing, or is likely to be committed soon. The evidence of probable cause is presented to an independent magistrate who assesses the information and determines whether it is sufficient to grant a search warrant.
Of course, a law-abiding gun owner exercising their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms is not probable cause to invade their home. Moreover, a person who exercises one constitutional right does not waive the others.
It is difficult to overstate the impact of Harris’s proposal, were it to be implemented nationwide. Roughly half of American homes would be subject to government intrusion.
On November 21, 2023 NBC News published an article titled, “Poll: Gun ownership reaches record high with American electorate.” The article explained, “More than half of American voters -- 52% -- say they or someone in their household owns a gun, per the latest NBC News national poll.”
Aside from exposing her contempt for the Bill of Rights, Harris’s words underscore the importance of gun owner privacy. Gun rights advocates have long understood that the government cannot be trusted with firearm and firearm owner registries. Chief among gun owner concerns is the correct belief that such lists facilitate gun confiscation – something Harris supports. However, government retention of gun owner data is also a necessary component of the type of home intrusion scheme Harris outlined in 2007.
NRA members and other gun rights activists must work to inform their family, friends, neighbors, and other freedom-minded individuals about the dangers Harris poses to the Bill of Rights and the sanctity of their homes.
More Like This From Around The NRA
