Camp David

In an interview with the New Republic, President Barack Obama is asked whether he's "ever fired a gun."

"Yes," Obama says, "in fact, up at Camp David, we do skeet shooting all the time."

Obama says his family doesn't go shooting, in response to a question. "Not the girls, but oftentimes guests of mine go up there. And I have a profound respect for the traditions of hunting that trace back in this country for generations. And I think those who dismiss that out of hand make a big mistake."

Then Obama tries to tie in gun control talk, which was the subject of much of the interview. "Part of being able to move this forward is understanding the reality of guns in urban areas are very different from the realities of guns in rural areas. And if you grew up and your dad gave you a hunting rifle when you were ten, and you went out and spent the day with him and your uncles, and that became part of your family's traditions, you can see why you'd be pretty protective of that," says Obama.

"So it's trying to bridge those gaps that I think is going to be part of the biggest task over the next several months. And that means that advocates of gun control have to do a little more listening than they do sometimes."