Gregory Korte

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — President Obama told the nation's governors on Monday that the shooting rampage in Kalamazoo, Mich. over the weekend was another clarion call for gun safety legislation.

"On Saturday, another one of our communities was terrorized by gun violence," Obama told the winter meeting of the National Governors Association at the White House Monday. "I have got to assume that all of you are just as tired as I am of seeing this stuff happen in your states."

Police have charged Jason Dalton, 45, a driver for the ride-hailing service Uber, with multiple counts of first-degree murder and attempted murder after a shooting spree that left six people dead Saturday night. A semiautomatic handgun was found in his car, police said.

Obama said he called Kalamazoo's mayor, sheriff and police chief Monday morning to offer federal support, saying they "did an outstanding job in apprehending the individual very quickly. But you've got families who are shattered today."

Responding to a spate of mass shootings in recent months — including the terrorist-inspired shooting in San Bernardino in December that killed 14 people — Obama announced a new round of gun executive actions in January. The biggest policy change clamps down on unlicensed gun sellers who exploit an exception for hobbyists and collectors in order to avoid having to run criminal background checks on gun purchasers.

Obama announces gun actions in emotional plea for congressional action

"The attack in San Bernardino killed 14 of our fellow Americans, and here's a hard truth: We probably lost even more Americans than that to guns this weekend alone," Obama said.

"So that's an area where we also need to partner and think about what we can do in a common-sense way, in a bipartisan way, without some of the ideological rhetoric that so often surrounds that issue," Obama told the gathering of Republican and Democratic governors.

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, a Republican who chairs the National Governors Association, said gun safety was primarily a state issue.

"We have different cultures and different politics," he said.

"That being said, I certainly believe in background checks," Herbert said. "We want to make sure that the bad guys don’t have access to guns, but the good guys do."