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"We shouldn't be responding, we should be preventing," said Democratic House Minority Leader, Nancy Pelosi.
Pelosi held a press conference Thursday morning calling on Congress to act now to create a select committee on gun violence, allow the Centers for Disease Control to study gun violence and pass expanded background check legislation.
President Donald Trump focused on the mental health of the shooter, tweeting earlier, "So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior. Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must always report such instances to authorities, again and again!"
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Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan says Congress passed mental health legislation two years ago that is just now being implemented.
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"We do have the laws on the books designed to prevent people with mental health issues from getting firearms," he said. "Designed for people who have criminal backgrounds from getting firearms. The question, just like the Texas instance, are those laws working the right way? Are there loopholes that need to be plugged?"
VIDEO: Student at school where shooting happened: 'Everyone predicted this'
At San Jose State, a generation that grew up with mass school shootings happening across the nation is now looking for ways to stop it.
"I think a huge part of it all comes down to mental health and everything but I mean you see this all over the country, it's not just one specific area, so, in general we need to look at it from a broad picture," said student Elise Richey.
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Fellow student Patrick Xia added, "Annual screen for people who own guns because once you buy a gun there's no follow up or anything,"
And another student, Nicole Ferreira, said, "I hear like, oh I'm sorry, my condolences, but I don't see any action.
A gun control group called "Everytown For Gun Safety" reports there have been 290 school shootings in the U.S. since 2013 and 18 so far this year.
Click here for full coverage on the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland and click here for a look at comprehensive coverage on school shootings here in the Bay Area and across the country.