Latest mass shooting in Colorado prompts new push for gun reform across the US

A suspected gunman has now been charged with the deaths of 10 people at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado.
Police say that the 21-year-old man bought the weapon allegedly used in the crime just six days before the attack. They are still gathering facts on a possible motive.
The shooting comes just 10 days after a judge blocked a ban on assault rifles that was put into place after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida in 2018.
One of the victims in the Parkland shooting was Alyssa Alhadeff, formerly of Woodland Park. Alhadeff’s family has made gun reform a priority in the wake of her death. Her mother Lori Alhadeff says that this latest shooting in Boulder brings up painful memories.
“It’s very painful. It’s very triggering, knowing about those families of loved ones shot and killed yesterday” Alhadeff says.
Alhadeff has spent the years following her daughter’s death promoting Alyssa’s Law, which requires panic buttons to be installed in all schools in New Jersey.
Dina Shaw of Princeton lost her mother to gun violence when she was only 10 years old. She now speaks for the group Everytown USA which promotes gun reform.
“Studies show with each of these murders, 100 people’s lives are affected. It’s time to have some federal action on sensible gun legislation,” Shaw says.
Despite their own personal losses and watching more families lose loved ones to mass shootings and gun violence, both women say that they won’t be discouraged and will continue their work. They say that they believe that they can and will make change.
“I definitely think this conversation we are having now needs to happen not when a mass shooting happens. It has to happen on a regular basis,” Alhadeff says. “It has to be a top priority."
Alhadeff says that she would like to see Alyssa’s Law pass in every state, not just New Jersey. Shaw says that she wants to see lawmakers pass new legislation on background checks.