Castro: Hunters and sportsmen ‘understand you don’t need these weapons of war’

Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro urged lawmakers to pass gun legislation he said even most gun owners support. 

“Often times it’s actually hunters and folks that shoot on a range that understand that you don’t need these weapons of war, the AR-15 and other similar weapons. I think more and more, many of them get it,” the Texas Democrat said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” 

His remarks followed a Saturday shooting in his home state that killed at least 7 people. {mosads}

Castro said if he were president now, he would push for common sense gun legislation reform.

He said while it’s a politically divisive issue, he suggested many gun owners would be on board with gun reform measures. 

“Sure, I agree a certain percentage of people somehow fear the government is going to try and take over the entire country somehow and they’re going to need their weapons. But that’s actually a minority of people,” Castro said. 

Castro also said that as president he would push legislation in congress and place pressure on “swing state Republicans” up for reelection in 2020. 

WATCH: Julián Castro says people want a “new generation of leadership”, but calls Bernie, Biden and Warren “very talented individuals” #MTP #IfItsSunday@juliancastro: “When Democrats have won, it’s because they’ve taken a bit of a risk” pic.twitter.com/D79baXlrzQ

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) September 1, 2019

“To get them to go with something that we can compromise on, at least universal background checks, I think we can do more than that in the future,” Castro said. 

The Democratic-controlled House passed a universal background check bill in February, but it has not been brought up for a vote in the Republican-controlled Senate.