Sen. Bernard Sanders on Sunday said he’s not happy he voted for a “terrible” 1994 crime bill shepherded by 2020 rival Joseph R. Biden — a piece of legislation that has emerged as a major point of contention in the race for the Democrats’ presidential nomination.

“No, I’m not happy I voted for a terrible bill,” Mr. Sanders, Vermont independent, said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “But I am happy that I was honest with the people of my state.”

“People lose faith in politicians [because] they say one thing, and they do another thing,” he said. “If you tell the people in my state of Vermont I am going to do everything I can to put a ban on assault weapons, and then you don’t do that, well, that’s the other side of that coin.”

The sweeping bill Mr. Biden helped pass as then-chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee included provisions on mandatory minimum sentences and new money for law enforcement initiatives, which critics argue have led to “mass incarceration,” particularly of minorities.

But as Mr. Sanders indicated, it also included a 10-year ban on many semiautomatic rifles. That ban was ultimately not renewed.

“I made a promise to the people of Vermont,” he said. “And, since then, I have been doing my best helping to lead the effort for real criminal justice reform, so that we end the disgrace of having more people in jail than any other country.”

On the campaign trail, Mr. Biden has defended aspects of the bill amid criticism from people like Sen. Cory A. Booker of New Jersey, and says Democrats looking to go back and fix aspects they found unpalatable were thwarted by Republicans who gained seats after the bill was passed.

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