Sit-in held in San Pedro to call for action against gun violence

SAN PEDRO, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The mass sit-in at the House of Representatives was duplicated in San Pedro on a small scale, but charged with emotion.

U.S. Representative Janice Hahn continued the crusade for tougher gun control laws as she listened to plea after emotional plea Tuesday evening.

MORE: Democrats end 25-hour House floor protest over guns

"I'm here speaking on behalf of my sister who was murdered just last year," Josiah Broderick of Long Beach said. "We shouldn't just be bystanders and just let this pass us by. All of us together need to try to pull together and stop it."

Broderick's sister Alicia was an honor student at Long Beach City College when she was killed.

More than 100 people came together in San Pedro for a community sit-in. Most had been affected by gun violence in some way.

Adding to the emotion were visual displays as pairs of shoes belonging to the victims of gun violence were arranged in the room.

Hahn, a Democrat, participated in last week's 25-hour sit in on the House floor and demanded a vote on gun reform.

"We wanted to keep it alive, we wanted to bring that sit-in home to our district. We want the American people to rise up," Hahn said.

But not everyone who spoke at the event was in support of reform.

"The answer is not gun control," Arthur Schaper of South Bay said. "That 25 hour sit-in was a waste of time. When you do a sit-in, you do it to get rights, not take rights away."

Hahn listened to each speaker and said she planned to take each one of their stories back to Washington, D.C. next week.