Shooting victims' families in DC to urge Congress to act on gun control

WASHINGTON (KABC) -- The father of UCSB shooting victim Christopher Michaels-Martinez is in the nation's capital to work for more gun control. Richard Martinez's rallying cry is "Not One More." Others have picked up on it in an effort to try to end gun violence.

They want all Americans to flood their representatives in Congress with calls, emails, letters and text messages urging action on gun violence. They say 1.9 million Americans have already signed their petition at Everytown.org, and they want that number to grow.

"Not One More" becomes a rallying cry for University of California-Santa Barbara students following the Isla Vista massacre. They're led by the father of Christopher Michaels-Martinez, one of six killed on May 24.

Over the weekend, Richard Martinez met with the father of the man who killed his son, vowing to work together to change gun laws.

Now Martinez is bringing his message to Capitol Hill. He's comparing the loss of his son to the loss of a young man killed inside Columbine High School in 1999.

"My son Chris has been dead for 26 days and there's a hole in my heart that nothing can fill," said Martinez. "Daniel Mauser has been dead 15 years. Fifteen years, and what has been done?"

Martinez is bringing together the parents of victims from some of America's many mass shootings. Among them, Tucson, Arizona: six dead, 13 wounded. Aurora, Colorado: 12 dead, 70 wounded. Newtown, Connecticut: 28 dead, most of them children.

"My heart is still broken and every time I watch news of a shooting, my heart broke all over again," said Roxanna Green, whose daughter was fatally shot in Tucson.

"We all know that it's easy for politicians and the media to move on to the next issue," said Cleo Pendleton, who lost a daughter in a Chicago shooting. "However, we and the other many parents and loved ones of those who were killed by violence will not move on."

Last year, the U.S. Senate failed to pass a bipartisan bill that would have required background checks for gun sales. The idea was supported by about 90 percent of Americans at the time.

"Gun violence in our nation is caused by craven and irresponsible politicians and the corporate gun lobby that buy their votes to block any and all reasonable, life-saving solutions," said Sandy Phillips, whose daughter was killed in Aurora.

Now these parents are asking senators who voted against background checks to change their minds, sending them 2.4 million postcards that simply read "Not One More."

"If we don't do something now, more fathers just like me will lose their sons like I did," said Tom Sullivan, whose son was killed in Aurora.

"We cannot continue to walk away from these shootings, wringing our hands and saying 'That's a shame,'" said David Hoover, whose nephew was killed in Aurora.

"What stops a bad guy with a gun is a bad guy not having a gun," said Peter Reed, whose daughter was killed at Virginia Tech.

That comment was a response to the National Rifle Association. That group has said "The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun."

Eyewitness News reached out to the NRA multiple times Tuesday for a response to the parents' comments. The organization did not respond.