'This is a national health crisis:' Gun reform rally held in Old Bethpage

A gun reform rally was held in Old Bethpage Wednesday, where gun control activists said they're fed up with the empty rhetoric from Washington after every mass shooting and want immediate action.

News 12 Staff

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Aug 7, 2019, 9:09 PM

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Updated 1,963 days ago

A gun reform rally was held in Old Bethpage Wednesday, where gun control activists said they're fed up with the empty rhetoric from Washington after every mass shooting and want immediate action.

"This is a national health crisis," says Laura Burns, of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.

Burns and others called on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to call back the Senate from its five-week recess to vote on a universal background check bill.

The bill, which already passed in the House, requires background checks on everyone who purchases a gun - including sales at gun shows and online.

Rita Kestenbaum, of Bellmore, says she's calling for an automatic weapons ban after she lost her 20-year-old daughter Carol in a shooting in 2007.

McConnell hasn't called back the Senate, but says he's considering legislation to curb gun violence and that "Senate Republicans are prepared to do our part."

Senate Republicans are looking at proposals like limiting guns for people with severe mental health issues and pushing for red flag laws to take guns away from potentially dangerous individuals.

Burns, who has been fighting for gun reform since the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in 2012, says she fears more lives will be lost if Congress doesn't act soon.

Activists say gun violence kills 100 people every day in the U.S. They say these tragedies are preventable with tougher gun laws.