Updated September 26, 2024

What do the 2024 presidential candidates think about gun control, and how do their stances compare?

The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects the right to bear arms. In recent years, gun death rates and mass shootings have led some to call into question how guns should be regulated.

Here's where the candidates fall.

Subissues:

• Gun Ownership
  • Background Checks
  • Red-Flag Laws
  • National Registry
• Weapons Ban
• Armed Personnel in Schools

Gun Ownership

Kamala Harris (D)

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ administration released a statement in March, calling on Congress to “pass universal background checks, a national red flag law, an assault weapons ban, and a secure storage law.”

Donald Trump (R)

Trump pledged, during his 2016 campaign, to "get rid of gun-free zones on schools" and military bases, saying, "you have to... It gets signed on my first day. You know what a gun-free zone is to a sicko? That's bait." As president, his administration planned to outlaw bump stocks, which allow semi-automatic firearms to fire continuously—a move that the National Rifle Association (NRA) was “disappointed” with. In 2018, he encouraged increasing the minimum age to buy a long gun from 18 to 21 years old and said he could convince the NRA to accept the restriction. “I told them, we’re going to have to toughen’ gun laws," said Trump, "I really think the NRA wants to do what’s right." He designated gun businesses to be “critical infrastructure” during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing them to remain open. Additionally, he loosened regulation on the export of firearms. Pertaining to red-flag laws, he reversed an Obama-era rule that would have assisted in enforcing existing restrictions of background checks. In the past, he has expressed openness to strengthening background checks, telling reporters, “I don’t want to put guns into the hands of mentally unstable people or people with rage or hate, sick people. I don’t want to — I’m all in favor of [background checks]... I think we can bring up background checks like we’ve never had before. I think both Republican and Democrat are getting close to a bill.” Trump said, in response to gun violence, that, "This is not a gun problem…This is a mental health problem, this is a social problem, this is a cultural problem, this is a spiritual problem." He also said, while campaigning for the 2024 Presidential Election, he would reverse all gun control measures that the Biden administration passed and fire the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives if elected. He told NRA supporters that “No president has fought harder to protect your Second Amendment rights;" however, Trump also said he would call on local law enforcement to “strictly enforc[e] existing gun laws against convicted felons.”

Cornel West (Ind.)

He has emphasized that discussions on gun control must consider historical context: “I knew that a discourse about gun control has so much to do about context. It has so much to do with how they have them and what kind of guns they are.” He has said that “I don’t think guns are the place to start. That’s why I’m an abolitionist about poverty, indecent housing, unavailable healthcare, and not enough jobs with a living wage.” He supports tightened requirements to own a firearm, as well as red-flag laws.

Chase Oliver (L)

Oliver’s platform states that he is “committed to ensuring you can exercise your right to self-defense, appointing judges who uphold this right, and fighting against any restrictions that undermine your safety.”

On August 16 The Libertarian Party posted on X that “No other candidate for president will champion your right to bear arms better” than Chase Oliver.

In a video shared on X on September 26, Oliver says “vulnerable populations are left more vulnerable when they are disarmed. It’s one of the reasons why I support the second amendment. Because I want people to be able to protect themselves, their family, and their community…”

Jill Stein (G)

Stein describes her platform as “A Platform To End Gun Violence.”  She advocates for mandatory waiting periods and background checks for firearm purchases, red flag laws, and standardized digital records of gun registrations and sales. Stein would require gun owners to use high-quality gun safes for storage and require gun owners to purchase liability insurance of no less than $1,000,000. Stein also seeks to hold adult firearm owners criminally liable for minor children accessing firearms and using them in the commission of any crime or accidental injury or death.

"Weapons Ban" 

RELATED: Dispelling Confusion Around the Term "Assault Weapons"

Kamala Harris (D)

Vice President Kamala Harris said, during the presidential debate in September, “Tim Walz and I are both gun owners. We’re not taking anybody’s guns away.” This comment was made despite the Biden-Harris Administration’s staunch opposition to “assault weapons.” In August, Harris again called for an “assault weapons ban.”

Donald Trump (R)

According to the New York Times (Lean Left bias), "Mr. Trump never pursued an assault weapons ban, though he had called for one in his 2000 book, 'The America We Deserve' — in which he also criticized Republicans for opposing even limited gun restrictions." Trump signaled support for stricter background checks in 2019 after mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio but did not call on Congress to pass background check legislation. He said he was open to considering a weapons ban in 2018, but he said in 2019 that he saw “no political appetite” in Congress for a ban on assault rifles, doubting its ability to pass. 

Cornel West (Ind.)

No explicit stance found, but West once criticized the New York Police Department for "carrying assault weapons" during raids.

Chase Oliver (L)

Oliver's platform states that he would oppose new gun restrictions while working to repeal existing ones.

Jill Stein (G)

Stein supports a ban on assault weapons and a buyback program. 

Armed Personnel in Schools

Kamala Harris (D)

Vice President Kamala Harris spoke, in 2019, of removing police officers from schools. She has argued, on multiple occasions, that safety does not come from increased policing; however, the White House announced $334M in grants for law enforcement, in 2023, part of which was aimed at school safety, according to White House Domestic Policy Council Director Neera Tanden. 

Donald Trump (R)

Trump has suggested arming school teachers as a response to shootings, giving them extra pay as an incentive, “You give them a little bit of a bonus, so practically for free, you have now made the school into a hardened target,” and he clarified that teachers would require special training in order to be armed, saying, “I don’t want teachers to have guns, I want certain highly adept people, people that understand weaponry, guns — if they really have that aptitude.” Trump has also suggested that buildings should have single point of entry, stronger fencing, and metal detectors, and he pledged in his 2016 campaign to end gun-free zones in schools.

Cornel West (Ind.)

No specific stance from Cornel West was found.

Chase Oliver (L)

In an interview with Rolling Stone Oliver said one of the solutions to school shootings is “hardening the target.” In a Fox 5 Atlanta interview Oliver said "If you are well-trained, you should be able to have armed staff, and that includes teachers who have gone through some sort of certification…"

Jill Stein (G)

No specific stance was found.

This blog was originally written by Harry Ding, Content Intern (Center bias). It was reviewed and edited by Henry A. Brechter, Editor-in-chief (Center bias), Malayna J. Bizier, News Analyst and Social Media Editor (Right bias), Julie Mastrine, Director of Marketing and Bias Ratings (Lean Right bias), Joseph Ratliff, Design Consultant (Lean Left bias), and Kai Lincke, Content Intern (Lean Left bias). It was updated by Malayna J. Bizier and Krystal Woodworth (Center bias).