HOUSTON — Outside Houston's City Hall, hundreds of mothers rallied to fight for new gun control measures.
"We're not just impatient," said Alexandra Chasse, with Moms Demand Action. "We're frightened. We're scared. We're angry. This is out of hand. It's an urgent public health crisis."
Back to back mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton that left a total of 31 people dead have reignited the call for universal background checks. The House of Representatives has already passed the bill. It's up to the Senate to move it forward.
"We need to act," said Chasse. "The time to act was yesterday. This is a call for them to get their behinds back to Washington to hear us."
Houston's Moms Demand Action rally was one of several across the country. Families were joined by Houston leaders lending their voices to the call for common sense gun laws.
"We have to keep pushing," Mayor Sylvester Turner said. "When you have two mass shootings all on the same day, that's saying this can't wait."
"If I have a choice between standing with moms fighting for their communities, for the safety of their families, or standing with the NRA, I'll choose to stand with mothers," Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said.
The NRA has voiced its opposition to universal background checks. President Trump reacted to the call for new gun laws earlier Sunday afternoon.
"It's the people that pull the trigger, not the gun," Trump said. "So we have a big mental health problem and Congress is working on various things, and I'm looking at it."
Senate leaders say they will discuss gun legislation when they return in September, but it's unclear what, if anything will change.
Gun control advocates in Houston plan to keep up the pressure.
"We deserve to send our kids to school, to go about our daily lives without the fear or risk of being shot," Chasse said.
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