California Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris said on Monday that members of Congress should be forced to view autopsy photos of children before voting on gun control.
Harris, speaking at a CNN town hall event in Iowa, was responding to question about how to stem the tide of gun violence. (RELATED: Kamala Harris Made Her First Campaign Speech All About Race)
WATCH:
Harris began by arguing for “smart gun safety laws,” saying, “We’ve got to stop buying this false choice. You can be in favor of the Second Amendment and also understand that there is no reason in a civil society that we have assault weapons around communities that can kill babies and police officers.”
The recently-declared presidential candidate went on to criticize the NRA. “I’m just going to be very, very blunt about this,” she said. “You know, for years, I’ve asked folks in D.C., you know, is the NRA real or is it a paper tiger? Like, what’s the deal there?”
But Harris’ harshest criticisms were for her colleagues in Congress — for their failure to act on the issue, especially in light of events like the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, and the shooting that wounded former Democratic Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.
“They failed to act. Here’s what I think,” Harris suggested. “I think that somebody should have required — and this is going to sound very harsh. I think somebody should have required all those members of Congress to go in a room, in a locked room, no press, nobody else, and look at the autopsy photographs of those babies. And then you vote your conscience. This has become a political issue.”
Critics immediately responded to Harris, asking whether the same tactic should be applied prior to votes about abortion legislation or funding to abortion providers.
Now do Planned Parenthood. https://t.co/BHS6sfXlJ6
— Joel B. Pollak (@joelpollak) January 29, 2019
But Harris, whose campaign received funding from Planned Parenthood, worked as the California Attorney General to shut down the investigation into the organization and its alleged ties to StemExpress.
Not only that, but when Angel families attempted to meet with Harris at her office — to show her photos of their children, killed at the hands of illegal immigrants — they said her staff threatened to call Capitol Police.
Exclusive–Angel Mom: Kamala Harris’ Staff Threatened to Call Capitol Police When Angel Families Visited Her Office https://t.co/LHDXhLz0KS via @BreitbartNews
— Joel B. Pollak (@joelpollak) January 29, 2019