Keene, N.H. (CNN) On the campaign trail for the first time after the mass shootings in San Bernardino, California, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders called for gun safety legislation.

"We're now thinking about the people in San Bernardino, people who were killed, people who were attending a party, shot down in cold blood," said the Vermont senator. "Talking about the people in Colorado Springs, we're talking about the people in Chattanooga, we're talking about the people in communities all over this country."

Sanders told the crowd ending mass shootings will not be easy but that the country needs to come together around "common sense ideas which I believe could be of some help in addressing this crisis."

The Vermont Senator called for legislative measures addressing gun violence -- including expanded instant background checks, an assault weapons ban and improved mental health capabilities, a push he first called for in a statement from his Senate office after the shooting.

"Who in America does not believe that it is a dumb idea to allow people to own guns who should not have them because of the criminal background or because of mental illness?" Sanders said.

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