(Newser) – Sen. Richard Burr, locked in a tight race in North Carolina, has apologized for remarks that got plenty of laughs from a crowd of Republican volunteers over the weekend. In audio obtained by CNN, Burr recounted seeing a picture of Hillary Clinton on the NRA's official magazine. "Nothing made me feel any better then—I walked into a gun shop ... there was a copy of Rifleman on the counter, it's got a picture of Hillary Clinton on the front of it," Burr said. "I was a little bit shocked at that it didn't have a bull’s-eye on it." He added that the magazine had a list of NRA-approved candidates.

After his remarks became public, Burr apologized for the "inappropriate" comments, which critics said were reminiscent of Donald Trump's remarks in August about "Second Amendment people" doing something about Clinton picking Supreme Court justices, reports USA Today. In his remarks Saturday, Burr went on to brag that his refusal to confirm the appointment of a federal judge created the "longest judicial vacancy in history" and to promise that if Clinton "becomes president, I am going to do everything I can do to make sure four years from now, we still got an opening on the Supreme Court." (Read more Richard Burr stories.)

