Karen Catchpole delves into the election candidates and their views
Donald Trump won the 2024 Presidential Election on November 6th, making him president for another four years. He is a part of the Republican party; Kamala Harris is part of the democratic party. Trump and Harris have several conflicting opinions- it’s important for Americans to educate themselves on different ideas, both before and after the election. Although Harris and Trump have debated on several topics, the most controversial ones would be gun control and abortion rights.
Donald Trump has continued to defend America's second amendment right- the right to bear arms. He has been shot at twice- once in the ear, and unharmed in the second one. After these events, he still has not changed his stance on this issue. In Trump’s previous term, 2019, he stated he would veto legislation from Congress that would have enhanced background checks on guns. (STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY.) He also stated, ““We have a Second Amendment and a right to bear arms… I’m very strongly an advocate of that… people need that for security, they need it for entertainment and for sport, and other things. But they also, in many cases, need it for protection.””
Kamala Harris takes a different stance- much like other people with democratic views, she owns a gun but sees gun violence as a major problem and wants to put certain restrictions in place. Two main actions she was willing to take were to enforce more in-depth background checks and ban assault weapons. Assault weapons are most commonly used in mass shootings; there was previously a bill to ban them, but it expired in 2004 and was never renewed. In late September, Harris stated, “I am in favor of the Second Amendment, and I believe we need to reinstate the assault weapons ban.”
Another topic that Harris and Trump debated about was abortion rights. Donald Trump does not support abortion. His position has also changed quite a lot- he recently stated that U.S states should decide their own abortion laws and he wouldn’t sign a bill for a nationwide ban. However, in a March interview, he suggested a nationwide ban for abortion after 15 weeks. He also elected 3 supreme court justices that shared similar views and voted to overturn Roe v. Wade. Because of these inconsistencies, it’s hard to determine what Trump’s plan is.
Kamala Harris has a completely opposite opinion on abortion- she wants to reinstate Roe v Wade. This election marks a year since Roe v. Wade was overturned, making it one of the most important issues. Harris has stated she would support a bill restoring the protections in Roe v. Wade and veto bills on abortion bans.Alexandra LaManna, who was a former white house spokesperson for reproductive rights, stated: “Voters have, I think, two jobs if they want to restore abortion access: If they have a ballot initiative, they need to vote directly in support of abortion, and they need to vote for Harris,”
These are two of the most highly debated topics this election; however, when voting for president, it’s important to educate ourselves on as many topics as possible. This can be done by watching presidential debates, interviews, and reading articles about both sides.
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