Democratic presidential contenders demand action on guns after mass shootings

2020 Democratic US presidential candidate and entrepreneur Andrew Yang reacts after hearing Stephanie Pizzoferrato of Las Vegas talk about her 4-year-old daughter Dayla being killed by a stray bullet during the Presidential Gun Sense Forum in Des Moines, Iowa, US, August 10, 2019. [Reuters]

Democratic presidential contenders on Saturday urged Congress to take action to curb gun violence following mass shootings last weekend in Texas and Ohio that left 31 dead.

Speaking at a hastily convened forum in Iowa, they called for the imposition of universal background checks on gun buyers, so-called “red flag” laws, and ultimately a ban on military-style assault weapons.