Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

Kamala Harris: Government Agents Should Invade Locked Homes to Inspect Legal Guns

Monday, September 23, 2024

Kamala Harris: Government Agents Should Invade Locked Homes to Inspect Legal Guns

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.

TRENDING NOW
Firearm Turn-ins, Worse than Useless?

News  

Monday, April 28, 2025

Firearm Turn-ins, Worse than Useless?

Once again, Chicago has provided a cautionary tale in gun control. This time the city helped to illustrate the futility of gun turn-ins – sometimes incorrectly termed “buybacks” by those under the misimpression that all ...

Declassified Document: Biden-Harris Administration Targeted Gun Owners and Second Amendment Rights Under “Domestic Terrorism” Pretext

News  

Monday, April 21, 2025

Declassified Document: Biden-Harris Administration Targeted Gun Owners and Second Amendment Rights Under “Domestic Terrorism” Pretext

On April 16, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard made good on a promise to expose the ways in which the Biden administration had weaponized the federal government against its political adversaries by releasing the Biden-era “Strategic Implementation Plan ...

U.S. Supreme Court Allows Decision Recognizing Young Adult Carry to Stand

News  

Monday, April 28, 2025

U.S. Supreme Court Allows Decision Recognizing Young Adult Carry to Stand

On Monday, April 21, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review an appeal from the state of Minnesota in Worth v. Jacobson, allowing to stand an Eight Circuit ruling declaring that a ban on obtaining carry permits by ...

Australian Gun Regime Exposes the Fallacy of “Red Flag” Laws

News  

Monday, April 28, 2025

Australian Gun Regime Exposes the Fallacy of “Red Flag” Laws

As we wrote about last week, a cornerstone of the Biden administration’s “Strategic Implementation Plan for Countering Domestic Terrorism,” a plan aimed at curtailing Second Amendment rights under the guise of fighting domestic terrorism, was ...

Trump Administration Revives Federal Firearm Rights Restoration Provision

News  

Friday, March 21, 2025

Trump Administration Revives Federal Firearm Rights Restoration Provision

On March 20, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) published an interim final rule entitled, Withdrawing the Attorney General’s Delegation of Authority. That bland title belies the historic nature of the measure, which is aimed at reviving ...

Legal Update: April 2025 Litigation Update

Monday, April 21, 2025

Legal Update: April 2025 Litigation Update

In the first quarter of 2025, the National Rifle Association filed three new lawsuits and five amicus briefs, while continuing to litigate dozens of ongoing lawsuits across the country.

Florida: Legislation to Remove 2A Restrictions During Emergencies Sent to Governor’s Desk

Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Florida: Legislation to Remove 2A Restrictions During Emergencies Sent to Governor’s Desk

Today, companion bills Senate Bill 952 and House Bill 6025, protecting our Second Amendment Rights during a state of emergency, received final passage from the legislature and will now head to Governor DeSantis's desk for his consideration.  

Vermont: Committee Approves Burlington Gun Ban

Monday, April 21, 2025

Vermont: Committee Approves Burlington Gun Ban

On Friday, April 18, the Vermont Senate Government Operations Committee approved S. 131, a change to the Burlington City Charter that would allow the city to ban firearms in establishments that serve alcohol.

Rep. Feenstra Reintroduces Legislation to Protect Second Amendment Rights of Tenants

News  

Tuesday, April 22, 2025

Rep. Feenstra Reintroduces Legislation to Protect Second Amendment Rights of Tenants

On April 17, 2025, Representative Randy Feenstra (R-IA-04) reintroduced the Preserving Rights of Tenants by Ensuring Compliance to the Second Amendment Act, or the PROTECT the Second Amendment Act. 

Federal Court in Massachusetts Enforces Range Access Statute in Pathbreaking Case

News  

Monday, April 21, 2025

Federal Court in Massachusetts Enforces Range Access Statute in Pathbreaking Case

It has happened before in Massachusetts: A small, hardy band of armed Americans faces off against elements of the most powerful military in the world and commits a revolutionary act that paves the way for ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.