Democratic presidential candidate Bernard Sanders on Monday slammed proposed mandatory gun buybacks as “essentially confiscation.”

The Vermont senator was asked during a Q&A in Charles City, Iowa, whether he would support a federal mandatory buyback on all AR-15s and AK-47s.

“A mandatory buyback is essentially confiscation, which I think is unconstitutional,” Mr. Sanders responded, the Washington Free Beacon reported. “It means that I’m going to walk into your house and take something whether you like it or not. I don’t think that stands up to constitutional scrutiny.”

Mr. Sanders said gun violence is an epidemic that he plans to address on “Day 1” of his presidency. He said that in addition to instituting universal background checks and banning all “assault weapons” sales, he plans to take a tough stance against the National Rifle Association.

“I will not be intimidated by the NRA,” he said. “We cannot allow the NRA to dictate policy because they’ve intimidated Trump and they’ve intimidated the Republican Party.”

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