Carney 'not sure how often' Obama goes skeet shooting

White House press secretary Jay Carney says he's not "sure how often" President Obama goes skeet shooting.

"I'm not sure how often he's done that," Carney said a day after The New Republic published an interview with Obama in which the president said he did skeet shooting at Camp David "all the time."

"I would refer you simply to his comments [in the interview]," Carney said. 

Asked if there were any pictures of Obama skeet shooting at the presidential retreat in Maryland, Carney said: "Because when he goes to Camp David, he goes to spend time with his family and friends and relax, not to produce photographs."

"There may be [a photo]," Carney said, "but I haven't seen it."

Meanwhile, Obama is urging Congress to enact new restrictions on gun ownership. The president is pressing for universal background checks as well as bans on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition clips. Obama also recently signed a number of executive actions aimed at tightening current gun laws. 

The president has often expressed support for the Second Amendment but his comments on skeet shooting pointed toward a previously undisclosed hobby.

The president mentioned skeet shooting to The New Republic after he was asked if he had ever fired a gun. Obama responded that "in fact, up at Camp David, we do skeet shooting all the time."

"Not the girls, but oftentimes guests of mine go up there," Obama continued in the magazine interview. "And I have a profound respect for the traditions of hunting that trace back in this country for generations. And I think those who dismiss that out of hand make a big mistake."

The president's new push on assault weapons comes in response to a shooting massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., that resulted in 28 dead. 

Obama's proposals face resistance in Congress from Republicans and Democrats. 

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