“Simply horrific. I’m grateful to the first responders who are on the scene in Gilroy, and my thoughts are with that community tonight,” Harris said on Twitter. “Our country has a gun violence epidemic that we cannot tolerate.”

Among politicians and activists, the Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting provoked a familiar cycle of thoughts and prayers and rejections of thoughts and prayers, as some insist words are futile in the face of repeated mass shootings and others argue that calls for gun control are not an appropriate response. Julián Castro, the former housing and urban development secretary, referenced that debate Sunday night, “Thoughts and prayers aren’t enough — we must do more to prevent these tragic attacks.”

Gun control has already been featured prominently in the 2020 campaign cycle. The tragedy in Gilroy — the nation’s worst active-shooter incident since May, when 12 people were killed in Virginia Beach — is likely to draw more attention to their proposals.

AD

AD

Candidates such as Joe Biden, Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), Beto O’Rourke and Montana Gov. Steve Bullock were also among the Democratic hopefuls to speak out Sunday.

“This violence is not normal,” Biden, who supports bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, wrote on Twitter. “How many more families will have to lose a loved one before we fix our broken gun laws? We must take action, starting with real reform. Our thoughts are with everyone in Gilroy this evening. Enough is enough.”

Like the former vice president, most of the candidates this year have pledged bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines while vowing to take on the National Rifle Association’s influence in Congress.

AD

Harris has also promised executive action within her first 100 days in office if Congress fails to pass comprehensive gun legislation. Along with the aforementioned bans, her package also includes universal background checks; closing the “boyfriend loophole” to make it more difficult for people convicted of domestic abuse to buy guns; and repealing gun manufacturers’ immunity to lawsuits related to shootings, among other things.

AD

Booker, who supports many of the same policies as Harris, has also proposed a national licensing program, which would require people to apply for five-year gun licenses. It would involve background checks, interviews, gun-safety classes and submitting fingerprints. At the presidential debate last month, he compared it to getting a driver’s license. He said he was “tired of hearing people — all they have to offer is thoughts and prayers.”

“If you need a license to drive a car, you should need a license to own a firearm,” he said. “We need to start having bold agendas on guns.”

The proposals come as mass shootings continue to happen with alarming regularity at schools, concerts, bars and workplaces and while student activists have continued to demand political action after the Parkland school shooting that left 17 dead.

AD

AD

O’Rourke, the former Texas congressman, referenced those activists Sunday night in his call to action.

“Sending love to all who are hurting tonight—and all who are affected by the 40,000 gun deaths in America each year,” he wrote. “We can accept this as our fate or we can change it. Following the lead of the students marching for their lives, and for all of ours, I know we can end this crisis.”

David Hogg, a former Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student and one of the most public voices in the March for Our Lives movement, said Sunday night that he was “tired” of the repeated shootings and lack of government action.

“I’m tired I’m tired of tweeting out # [insert city name here] strong every week,” he wrote. “I’m tired of moments of silence, thoughts and prayers as people continue to die every day. I’m tired of having a government so divided they can’t come together to save lives or our future.”