Kamala Harris’ revelation at the most recent presidential debate that she is a gun owner caught some viewers by surprise – the vice president has said relatively little over the years about her personal experience of owning a firearm.

Harris previously mentioned that she owned a gun during her 2020 bid for the Democratic presidential nominee. She revealed she owned a gun for personal safety. A Harris aide told CNN this month that her gun was a pistol tiny enough to fit in a small purse.

The remarkable utterance underscored Democrats’ increasing comfort with the country’s gun culture, and how Harris is trying to use it to puncture notions about female candidates.