Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., doesn’t believe it should be harder to buy an AR-15 after the assault rifle was used to massacre 17 people at a Florida high school.

Lankford said on NBC's "Meet the Press" there needs to be legislation to strengthen background checks. He shied away from restrictions on buying the AR-15, which has been used in multiple mass shootings.

“It is the individual himself that becomes an issue, not the weapon they are holding,” he said.