A mass shooting occurred in Sacramento this past weekend, leaving six dead and 12 in the hospital. The violent event took place on K Street, a popular street in Sacramento with lots of foot traffic.

It lies on a strip that has been a place of fights for years, but never gunshots. With more than 100 bullets fired, it is one of the deadliest shootings in the city’s history, leaving Sacramento riddled with grief.

The Sacramento Police Department said that gang violence was the root of the shooting, and it believes that at least five gunmen were a part of the shooting.

The police have arrested suspects and are taking the necessary steps to hold those to blame for the deaths responsible.

On Sunday, President Joe Biden called for a ban on ghost guns, assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, demanding background checks for all gun sales and holding gun-makers responsible and liable.

“We must do more than mourn, we must act,” Biden said in a statement Sunday night. It is now up to Congress to heed his call.

Shootings have broken out in all of America, a country with weak gun laws. There is no state that has been untouched by these brutal attacks of violence.

The shooting in Sacramento took place only hours after another one in Dallas.

But what’s more daunting is that there were 94 other shootings in America that very day. Other countries do not live with these fears. And there is one solution to this: bolder and stricter gun laws for this country.

“The scourge of gun violence continues to be a crisis in our country, and must resolve to bring an end to this carnage,” California Governor Gavin Newsom said in the aftermath of the shooting.

Sunday’s shooting occurred just weeks after four people were shot and killed in a church in Sacramento.

In fact, this is California’s 12th shooting this year, despite having some of the strongest gun laws.

California has at least 107 gun laws on the books, more than any other state, all of which were debated and passed in its Capital. The state has already banned military-style weapons, machine weapons and large-capacity magazines.

There have also been background checks and databases for those who own guns enforced by the state. And it has worked.

California does have a relatively low rate of deaths from gun violence, the seventh-lowest in the country. But more needs to be done.

Though California has the strictest gun laws in the US, when we compare them to the rest of the world, they are too weak. While these laws have protected people for the good, they need to be stricter for every state.

California cannot be the only state with strict laws, as it is only as protected as its neighboring states. It can be difficult for California to protect its people when its neighbors and country are three steps behind them.

Furthermore, there needs to be gun laws for crossing state borders. California is especially vulnerable to gun violence  because its bordering states have weaker laws.

Hundreds of guns used for violence in California were bought in Arizona, a state with some of the weakest gun laws in the nation.

Newsom has proposed a law that would hold gun manufacturers and sellers accountable. If it passes, people could sue anyone who sells and makes weapons of violence.

However, Newsom is not the only governor pleading with Congress for bolder legislation. He is one of the many Democrats who will introduce 100 more pieces of legislation if that’s what it takes to curb violence. 

Ultimately, this bolder legislation needed to be in place this past weekend, not only in California, but across the nation. It could have protected hundreds of Americans and cities if it was.