Astronaut Mark Kelly has called for tougher gun laws after 58 people were killed and more than 500 wounded in Las Vegas in America’s worst ever mass shooting.
Kelly, who spoke in front of the Capitol, called for universal background checks while branding the attack on the Route 91 Harvest Festival as ‘domestic terrorism.’
He spoke alongside wife Gabby Giffords, who was herself the victim of gun violence after being wounded in the 2011 mass shooting in Tuscon, Arizona.
Mark Kelly and wife Gabby Gifford, who was wounded during the 2011 mass shooting in Tuscon, have called for tougher gun laws after 58 were killed in Las Vegas
Kelly unequivocally described the attack as ‘domestic terror’, after White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Saunders had shied away from using the term.
‘This was am ambush if ever there was one,’ he said.
Kelly continued: ‘Your thoughts and prayers aren’t going to stop the next shooting. Only action and leadership will do that.
‘We, you, must demand leadership. We need a president who recognizes that we have a gun violence problem, and will work toward solutions.
‘Americans need more than our president’s prayers. We need his plans.
‘Pass universal background checks to make sure everyone gets a background check before they obtain a gun.
‘The studies are clear. Where these laws are passed, fewer people get shot. Where they have been repealed, murder and violence has increased.
‘Subject the sale of the most lethal weapons to stronger oversight and regulation.
‘You can buy an AR-15 in a parking lot with no background check at all. That’s crazy.
Kelly also aimed barbs at President Trump, saying: ‘Americans need more than our president’s prayers. We need his plans’
‘I’m a gun owner, Gabby’s a gun owner. I’m a supporter of the Second Amendment.
‘However, we can respect the Second Amendment and the rights of responsible gun owners, and at the same time, we can keep guns out of the hands of criminals, domestic abusers, potential mass shooters, and idiots.’
Kelly and Giffords co-founded Americans for Responsible Solutions in 2013 which advocates for tougher gun laws.
Giffords was shot in the head in January 2011 in Tucson, Arizona, by gunman Jared Loughner in a horrific attack that left six others dead and 13 wounded.
Giffords added: ‘I know this feeling of heartbreak and horror too well.
‘The massacre in Las Vegas is a grave tragedy for our nation. This must stop – we must stop this… The nation’s counting on you.’
Stephen Paddock, 64, amassed a total of 42 guns before carrying out his massacre in Las Vegas on Sunday night, according to police.
Kelly and Giffords co-founded a gun control advocacy group Americans for Responsible Solutions in 2013, and now campaign for tougher laws
Stephen Paddock stashed a total of 23 guns in a Mandalay Bay hotel room before smashing the windows and opening fire on a country music festival below
Twenty three of those weapons were found alongside him in the Mandalay Bay hotel room that he used as a sniper’s nest to carry out the killings.
The majority were rifles, some modified with tripods and scopes, with at least two fitted with ‘bump stocks’ which transform semi-automatic weapons into something close to full-automatics while skirting around regulations.
It is not known how he acquired all of the weapons, though shop owners from his home town of Mesquite and in Las Vegas have confirmed some were bought legally.
Two store owners who sold to Paddock said he raised no ‘red flags’ with his behavior, and passed all necessary background checks.
Media reports in the wake of Las Vegas reveal Paddock had no criminal record.