California, San Diego Politicians React To San Bernardino Killings

The mass shooting Wednesday in San Bernardino sparked the nation's elected leaders, including those from California and San Diego, to issue statements in news releases and on social media.

Democrats and Republicans alike decried the killings, but Rep. Scott Peters and U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein also called for legislative action to curb gun violence.

In a news release, Feinstein, a Democrat, said that 185,000 checks were run for gun purchases on the day after Thanksgiving. She said that does not include online or gun show sales, which do not require checks.

"When a convicted felon can walk into a gun show and buy an assault rifle, that's a problem. When an individual with a known mental illness can buy an assault rifle online, that's a problem," Feinstein said. "When a terrorist who can't board an airplane can buy an assault rifle in a gun store, that's a problem."

Peters, a San Diego Democrat, addressed the House of Representatives on Thursday, calling on Republican Speaker Paul Ryan to allow Congress to vote on proposals to curb gun violence.

Peters said that "here we stand, in the only building in the nation that could do something to curb this awful violence, and we cannot even get the Speaker of this House to let Congress vote — to let us act — on one of the several proposed laws that many of my colleagues and I support."

"Maybe, Mr. Speaker, instead of a moment of silence, the American people can get a moment of action," Peters said. "A moment of action that might keep their community from being next."

California Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer spoke on the Senate floor Thursday about the shootings.

"It isn't enough for us to keep lamenting these tragedies. We need to take action now before something like this happens again," Boxer said. "People deserve to feel safe in their communities."

Republican Rep. Darrell Issa of Vista responded Wednesday to the shootings on Twitter:

Democrat Rep. Susan Davis of San Diego said on Twitter Thursday:

Reps. Juan Vargas, D-San Diego, and Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, did not issue statements or comment on their social media accounts about the shootings.

Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, said in a statement it was time to "come together and see the light as a nation to stop this kind of thing from happening."

"We mourn for those who were killed, we pray for those who were injured, we grieve for those who loved the lost, and we hold our own loved ones a little tighter," she said. "Part of us, sadly, also instinctively wants to start steeling ourselves for the news of the next one to come."