ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- There was lot of empathy and sadness in St. Petersburg Saturday evening.
“Every time it shakes you, and you think wow that could have been me,” said Brianna Walker, talking about the mass shooting in Parkland.
Many people showed anger and disbelief, too. Folks gathered by the hundreds with an intense focus on taking action to reform gun laws.
"When in the heck are these guys going to get a soul, get a heart, and vote against the NRA?"
Paul McConnell is for the Second Amendment and even owns a gun, but says the safety of people, including kids going to school is more important.
"We don't need assault weapons that can kill multiple people in a minute available to anyone,” McConnell said.
Lisa Perry, the Pinellas County Chair of Women's March FL saying they don't want to take every gun away, they just want more accountability.
"It's about getting AR-15's off of the streets. We do not need semi-automatic weapons for anything,” Perry said.
Walker remembers Sandy Hook vividly and thought things would be different now.
"Before it got to this point something should have been done, and I think now people are fed up, and something needs to be done,” Walker said.
McConnell is hoping lawmakers are listening.
"Senators, congress people, have a heart. Look inside your heart,” said McConnell. "You've got the power, please do something."
Perry says in the very near future, the group is planning on holding a town hall meeting with elected officials to find middle ground and draft legislation that can help take action now before another tragedy happens.
