Julian Castro on Gun Control Democratic Presidential Challenger (withdrawn); former HUD Secretary

No mandatory buybacks--it means more cops banging on doors

Julian Castro: There are two problems I have with mandatory buybacks. Number one, folks can't define it, and if you're not going to door to door, then it's not really mandatory. But also, in the places that I grew up in, we weren't exactly looking for another reason for cops to come banging on the door. And y'all saw a couple of days ago what happened to Tatiana Jefferson in Fort Worth: cops showed up at 2 in the morning at her house when she was playing video games with her nephew. He didn't even announce himself, and within four seconds he shot her and killed her through her home window. She was in her own home. And so I am not going to give these police officers another reason to go door to door, because police violence is also gun violence and we need to address that.

The answer to mass shooting is not more guns

Whole slew of gun measures most Americans support

Yes on gun licensing, but also red flag laws

CASTRO: I do think that we have to strengthen our laws when it comes to knowing who has these guns, when they're sold, who do they change hands into. But we also have to combine that with things like red flag laws that give courts the ability to take guns out of the hands of people who shouldn't have them in the first place, people who represent a danger to themselves or to somebody else.

Voluntary buyback, despite their mixed success

FIVE CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Steve Bullock; Peter Buttigieg; Beto O`Rourke; Tim Ryan; Andrew Yang.

Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, as mayor of San Antonio in 2012, supported renewing the federal assault weapons ban following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Castro said during a CNN town hall that he supports "things like gun buybacks," adding: "I know that they have had mixed success, but I believe that in some circumstances that's a good policy, and that we can recover some weapons that shouldn't be out there on the street."

Dems can get common sense gun reform in 2021

Sensible gun laws, and address mental health issues

I also support looking at this issue of gun violence more broadly. We need to invest in mental health as part of health care. It's about things like mental health that touch on what leads people to use guns in a bad way.

Supports background checks at gun shows & assault weapon ban

Ban assault weapons

• Gun control: Require universal background checks, ban assault weapons.
• A longtime gun control advocate, Castro has pushed for renewing the assault weapons ban, limiting high-capacity magazines and requiring background checks at gun shows.