Bay Area lawmakers call for stricter gun laws in wake of mass shootings

OAKLAND, Calif. (KTVU) - Gilroy, El Paso, Dayton. Three mass shootings in a time span of just one week have stunned the nation with many urging lawmakers to take action now.

"This can't go on. It  just can't," said Congressman Mark DeSaulnier. "The Second Amendment is what it is and the court defends that. But there are things we can do constitutionally like an assault weapons ban. Why does anybody need an assault weapon?"
 
Congressman Eric Swalwell said it's time to ban and buy back high-powered rifles. "We are seeing two problems intersect. The rise of white nationalism in American and unrestricted weaponry."
 
Both Swalwell and DeSaulnier condemned President Donald Trump's rhetoric on minorities and immigrants. They say they hold him accountable for these shootings.

"He has blood on his hands," said DeSaulnier. "He knows what he's saying is hateful, he knows it's divisive. He's the first president that I can remember that has been deliberately divisive in trying to drag people apart."
 
A growing number of Democrats want the Senate called back to Washington for an emergency session to vote on gun control legislation.

Speaker of the house Nancy Pelosi said in a statement, "The Republican Senate must stop their outrageous obstruction and join the House to put an end to the horror and bloodshed that gun violence inflicts every day in America.  Enough is enough."