Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said Friday that California’s strict gun-control laws failed to prevent the San Bernardino mass shooting, and that lawmakers need to seek “better answers.”

“This issue goes beyond gun control,” Mr. Hogan told the Baltimore Sun outside a local diner.

“California has the toughest laws in the country. We probably have the second toughest. It hasn’t stopped us. We have more than 315 murders here in Baltimore City, we had a tragedy in California,” Mr. Hogan said. “We’ve got to come up with better answers.”

The FBI is investigating Wednesday’s San Bernardino attack, which left 14 dead and 21 injured, as an “act of terrorism.”

Democrats, led by President Obama, have ramped up calls for tougher federal gun laws in reaction to the mass shooting. The Republican-controlled Senate defeated Thursday two Democrat-sponsored amendments aimed at tightening access to firearms.

A Republican, Mr. Hogan also described the California shooting, which left 14 dead and 21 injured, as an “outrage.”

“I can tell you we’re on top of things here in Maryland and we’re going to try to stop things like that from happening here,” Mr. Hogan said.

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