A group of Missouri gun safety activists wanted Senator Roy Blunt Wednesday to support new gun safety legislation. Missouri Moms Demand Action volunteers gathered at the senator’s Columbia office to make their demands.

Activists said Congress needs to pass tougher gun laws following the mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York. The gun safety supporters said nobody should be allowed to buy a gun without a background check.

Members of Moms Demand Action claim to be the nation’s largest grassroots volunteer network working to end gun violence.

Activists delivered a petition signed by more than 5,000 Missourians to Senator Blunt’s Columbia office.

The petition demanded Blunt support bipartisan legislation that would protect Missourians from mass shootings and other gun violence.

Moms Demand Action Volunteer Kristin Bowen said, “We are grieving for the lives lost in Uvalde and in Buffalo and in so many other daily shootings that don’t grab headlines. We wanted to make sure to have this conversation today with the senator’s staff while this is still top of mind and part of the conversation.”

The conversation between the gun safety activists and the senator’s staff lasted about a half-hour. Bowen told staff members, that in an average year in Missouri, more than 1,200 people died from guns and 2,500 more Missourians were wounded by guns.

Bowen said, “People from different walks of life are all coming together on behalf of our organization in Missouri to say it’s time. Now is the time to take action.”

Blunt said he was open to a red flag law to help keep weapons out of the hands of people who pose a threat. Blunt said he looked forward to reviewing any proposals in Congress that come out of bipartisan talks.