Group participates in nationwide push for gun control laws

SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) – A national group called Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America set up shop in San Francisco on Thursday as part of a “Whatever It Takes National Day of Action” calling for stricter gun control laws.

The group handed out information in Union Square and asked people to send a message to Congress to pass legislation on stronger gun laws and fewer loopholes.

One of the volunteers, Clare Senchyna, said being a part of the group is personal to her. Her only child, Camilo Senchyna Beltran, was shot and killed outside a club in the Mission District in December 2014 as he tried to break up a fight. She said a 21-year-old pulled the trigger and her son was the innocent victim.

“I worked for the San Francisco Department of Public Health for 30 years and I no longer work,” Senchyna said. “This is what I’m going to work for – gun control.”

Spokeswoman Kath Tsakalakis said the outreach is part of a national day of action where supporters descended upon Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. calling for tougher gun laws and to close loopholes.

“We’ve had enough of guns and we’re getting together to do whatever it takes to stop gun violence,” Tsakalakis said. “88 people die by the gun every day in America.”

The rally was held in light of the shooting deaths of Virginia reporter Alison Parker and photojournalist Adam Ward of WDBJ. The gunman was a former disgruntled employee of the station.

Parker’s father, Adam Parker, spoke at the rally in Washington D.C.

“'We must continue to mount pressure on our elected officials here in Washington, and at home, in your home state,” he told the crowd.

Senchyna has vowed to do “whatever it takes” to make sure another family doesn’t go through her heartache.

“I’m not sure how a 21 year old - why he had a gun - all I can assume is that it's easier in this country to get a gun than an education or a decent job,” she added.

Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America is a grassroots organization that fights to protect people from gun violence. It was formed after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut in December 2012, in which 27 people were killed.