Is a Glock an assault weapon? Everything to know as Kamala Harris laughs about firing her gun

During an interview broadcast on Monday, Kamala Harris discussed owning a Glock when the interviewer posed a question about the type of guns in her possession.

Kamala Harris laughed and answered the question, saying:

"I have a Glock, and I’ve had it for quite some time."

When asked why she felt the need to own a gun, Harris replied:

"My background is in law enforcement. And – so there you go."

Interviewer Bill Whitaker then asked Harris if she had ever fired it, to which she said that she had done it in a shooting range. For the unversed, the Glock, manufactured by an Austrian company, is widely regarded as one of the best handguns on the market.

While Harris' gun is just a handgun, it could be converted into a machine gun by attaching a Glock switch. As per the Assault Weapon Ban of 2022, this gun is not classified as an assault weapon until attachments are made. FOX 2 Detroit reported that earlier in July, one such gun with the attachment was used in a mass shooting in Detroit. This handgun had received some huge publicity as well, especially in hip-hop music.

Paul Barrett, author of Glock: The Rise of America's Gun, said:

"The Glock was adopted early on by some of the biggest names — Tupac, Dr. Dre. As soon as it appeared here, they began to embrace it for its dark, futuristic side..."

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Kamala Harris recently began discussing gun ownership, revealing she owns Glock

President Joe Biden has previously addressed the increasing gun violence in the US. He expressed his belief that the gun ownership rights should be confiscated. This stance was criticized by Donald Trump as well.

After a series of shootings back in 2022, the Democrats tried their best to ban assault weapons. As a result, Kamala Harris' recent revelation about owning a gun has shocked many. In September, she had already told Oprah Winfrey that she would definitely use her gun if someone broke into her residence.

Until recently, Harris had not openly discussed her gun ownership, allowing her to counter claims made by Donald Trump. The former president reportedly accused the Democrats of snatching the gun ownership rights, which according to him are a part of the Second Amendment.

Harris further revealed that, along with her, Tim Walz is also a gun owner.

Following Harris' statements, several netizens questioned whether the handgun she uses is an assault weapon or not. As aforementioned, until the switch is attached to it, it is unlikely to become a machine gun.

As for assault weapons, they have been a controversial topic for a long time because these weapons are usually the ones that perpetrators use in mass shootings. According to the Giffords Law Center, assault weapons, especially assault rifles, "are typically semiautomatic versions of weapons created for deadly battlefield purposes."