Moms push for red flag laws in North Carolina amid deadly mass shootings

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — There are calls from across the country to strengthen gun laws after last weekend’s two deadly mass shootings.

[Victims of Texas, Ohio shootings included parents, students]

On Monday, President Donald Trump called on for more states to pass red flag laws.

A local mother is also pushing for those laws.

Claudia Sandoval's twin daughters survived the Sandy Hook massacre in 2012, and she said she knows the pain the families in El Paso and Dayton are going through.

“My heart goes out to them. I know the initial pain and heartache they go through the post-traumatic stress and the ripple effect,” said Claudia Sandoval with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.

In times such as these, Sandoval said, she finds hope in the work being done to end gun violence.

Her twin daughters were nine years old when a gunman killed 28 people in Newtown, Connecticut. One of her daughters hid in the gym and the other hid in the music room.

They now live in Charlotte, and she is an active member of Moms Demand Action, which is an organization working to make communities safer by strengthening gun reform.

[RELATED: Dayton, Ohio shooting: Victims identified after 9 killed, 27 wounded]

Red flag laws allow law enforcement agencies, family members and other concerned parties to petition a judge to confiscate guns from people who may cause harm to themselves or others.

“We know that red flag laws work. They've passed in other states, and they've been shown to help others avoid gun violence,” Sandoval said.

15 states already have similar laws, but some gun owners believe red flag laws violate their constitutional rights.

"If there is evil in the heart of man, he is going to express it. And no law is going to stop that," said gun rights advocate Rhonda Allen.

[RELATED: El Paso Walmart shooting: Death penalty considered for suspect after 20 dead]

There are two bills for red flag laws in the North Carolina General Assembly, but they are both currently in a committee.

Moms Demand Action is encouraging people to contact their local representatives to make sure the bills make it to the floor for discussion.

South Carolina Senator Darrell Jackson said he is planning to draft hate crime legislation, which would give harsher penalties to people convicted of hate crimes. He's expected to submit his proposal next year.

Cox Media Group