NEW YORK (AP) -- Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have joined New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in calling on the U.S. Senate to reject Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh because of his expansive interpretation of gun rights and the Second Amendment.

Cuomo, a Democrat, said Saturday that Kavanaugh's past opinions show that he believes it's a constitutional right to carry "even the most dangerous assault weapons."

Rep. Gregory Meeks, a New York Democrat, called Kavanaugh's nomination "a grave threat to reasonable gun control measures enacted by states."

Meeks and other lawmakers joined Cuomo at a Manhattan news conference to urge the Senate to block Kavanaugh's nomination.

Kavanagh has taken stands favoring broad gun rights in his current job as a judge on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.