SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – Gun control activists filled Balboa Park Thursday, demanding gun control for the safety of students.
Wendy Wheatcroft, the director of "Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense In America, says the event was in response to the school shooting in Parkland, Florida. As a mother of three, she was horrified.
“I want to be able to do everything in my power to make sure they grow up in a safe environment,” Wheatcroft said.
RELATED: Victims of Parkland shooting
Wheatcroft says California has some of the toughest gun laws in the country and should be the model for the federal level.
“In California, we have a gun law called the gun violence restraining order and this allows people to remove weapons from someone they deem to be a threat to themselves or others,” she said. “If they had this law in Florida, they could have prevented this from happening.”
RELATED: Vigil held for Parkland shooting victims
Jim Miller is with the San Diego Gun Owner’s Political Action Committee. He told 10News - no gun law could have stopped the attack on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Miller thinks the breakdown is in the mental health system.
RELATED: FBI warned about alleged Parkland shooter nearly five months ago
“If an individual can pass a background check because they’re mental health wasn’t diagnosed previously and not in a data base, that’s a problem,” Miller said.
He also believes schools should take a closer look at security. He thinks every campus should be protected by men and women with guns- either officers or trained staff.
“A gun free zone is just an attraction," Miller said. "And a magnet for people who want do bad things."
