Kamala Harris Pledges to Criminalize Private Gun Sales via Executive Action

Democrat presidential hopeful Kamala Harris says she will use executive action to criminalize selling more than five guns a year without a background check.

This follows a consistent Democrat-led push to criminalize all private gun sales via universal background checks. On February 27, Breitbart News reported that the Democrat-run House passed legislation to require a background check for every gun sale, thus criminalizing someone who sells a gun to a decades-long neighbor without government approval. It also criminalizes a friend who sells a gun to a lifelong friend without asking for government approval.

During a May 12 appearance on CNN’s State of the Union, Harris explained the scope of her executive action plans, saying, “For anyone who sells more than five guns a year, they will be required to perform background checks on the people they sell them to.”

Tapper asked if executive action can really be used to implement such a substantial requirement on private gun sales and Harris responded, “Yes it can.”

Harris’ push to criminalize private gun sales of more than five guns annually followed her talking about the shooting at Colorado’s STEM School Highlands Ranch. Yet stricter gun controls already exists in Colorado, where every gun sale requires a background check, whether that sale is private or retail. And these background checks did nothing to prevent the STEM School Highlands Ranch shooting.

When Tapper asked Harris if she supported a federal gun license, she responded, “I like the idea.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.