Losing more people to gun violence than war - Booker

Senator Cory Booker says more Americans have died in gun violence during his lifetime than all Americans killed during wars involving the U.S. in since the Revolutionary War.

He spoke to the the Congressional Black Caucus Phoenix Awards Dinner in Washington, D.C.

The Democratic presidential candidate emphasized that it is young black men who are most likely to be the victims of gun violence.

Several candidates on Thursday called for renewing the ban on assault weapons, including former Vice President Joe Biden, who boasted he had helped pass an earlier ban in 1994 despite opposition from the NRA. That law expired in 2004.

Biden also reiterated his proposal for a federal voluntary buyback program to purchase privately owned guns. U.S. Senator Cory Booker highlighted his plan to require licenses for gun ownership, another idea that has support in polls but virtually no chance of passing the Republican-controlled Senate.

Gun control advocacy groups like Giffords and Everytown for Gun Safety have deliberately focused their strategic efforts on broadly popular proposals like background checks, rather than more controversial measures like weapons bans or buyback programs.