CINCINNATI —

The shooting in Illinois, killing seven and injuring dozens, came days after President Joe Biden signed the strictest gun reform bill in three decades.

The bill imposes stricter background checks on juvenile gun buyers, encourages states to adopt red-flag laws and funds school youth mental health programs.

Monday's Independence Day massacre reignited firearm debates in the United States.

Many are calling for sweeping reform, while others disagree.

Sasha Martin works at Target World, a gun store, training center and firing range in Sharonville, Ohio.

"No, I wouldn't say firearms are the issue," Martin said. "I'd say individuals with mental health problems are the issue."

Martin explained the process of purchasing a gun, including a valid state ID and filling out ATF Form 4473, which is then turned in to the FBI.

The background check can go three ways: proceed, delay or deny.

"I just don't think from my personal experience people who are denied on firearm background checks aren't being prosecuted," Matin said. "I've seen the system work how it was intended, and nothing be done about it."

Gun shops often come under fire for the sale of long rifles, the weapon used in Monday's shooting.

"We really got to focus on the individual people; we can't attack these objects, these tools," Martin said. "I think that will only hurt us as a society."

Some lawmakers like Ohio State Sen. Cecil Thomas disagree.

He is spearheading a state bill that raises the age to buy a long ride, adopts a red flag law, extends the wait time for gun purchases and allows tracking of gun transfers.

"We're not trampling on your right to bear arms," Thomas said. "We just tried to minimize the potential for an incident."

Getting a tighter grip on Ohio's gun laws is something Rev. Dr. Jack Sullivan Jr. believes is desperately needed.

"Anything we can do to make sure that we rid ourselves of weapons of community destruction," Sullivan said.

Sullivan added that if something is to change, it must start with honest conversations.

California will start requiring gun makers and sellers to follow a whole new set of guidelines, a new precedent aimed at keeping guns out of the wrong hands. 

Starting July 2023, gun makers and sellers in California will have to implement what the state calls "reasonable precautions against theft or selling guns to someone who could use it illegally or harm someone else." 

That requirement is subjective, and gun rights groups argue it's too vague. 

But amid a rash of mass shootings and popular demand for tighter gun laws, it's a state measure that goes beyond current background check standards.

It adds to restrictions in a state where lawmakers are trying to limit concealed carry permitting after a Supreme Court ruling upended current laws. 

"We don't want a proliferation of weapons in sensitive areas, and we don't want the wrong people to have guns. That makes sense. They all work together. And California's safer because of it," state senator Anthony Portantino said.  

After a bipartisan law passed by Congress to strengthen so-called red-flag laws, President Biden is readily admitting its shortcomings. 

"We will not save every life from the epidemic of gun violence, but if this law had been in place years ago, even this last year, lives would have been saved," President Biden said. 

He's calling on states to go further than the federal government. 

That's exactly what California is doing, following in the footsteps of states like New York, New Jersey and Delaware, which have all enacted similar laws. 

"What legislatures are looking at is limitations around who, limitations around where and limitations around just what kinds of weapons are we talking about?" Portantino said.  

The California law also gives gun violence victims and their families more leverage to sue gun makers.

That skirts a 2005 federal law that protected gun manufacturers from lawsuits. 

The law allows an exemption when a manufacturer has violated state law. 

It allows California to add restrictions to the country's most restrictive state on guns.

"Now is the time to galvanize this movement. Because that's our duty to the people of this nation," President Biden said. 

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WASHINGTON — Families of nine victims killed in a racist attack at a Black South Carolina church have reached a settlement with the Justice Department over a faulty background check that allowed Dylann Roof to purchase the gun he used in the 2015 massacre.

The $88 million deal — which includes $63 million for the families of the slain and $25 million for survivors of the shooting — was set to be announced Thursday in Washington.

“The mass shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church was a horrific hate crime that caused immeasurable suffering for the families of the victims and the survivors,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday. “Since the day of the shooting, the Justice Department has sought to bring justice to the community, first by a successful hate crime prosecution and today by settling civil claims.”

Roof killed nine people at the Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, on June 17, 2015, during a Bible study.

Weeks before the church shooting, Roof was arrested by police in Columbia, South Carolina, on a drug possession charge. But a series of clerical errors and missteps allowed Roof to buy the handgun he later used in the killings.

When Roof purchased the gun, NBC News reports that the FBI examiner conducting the background check was told by deputies in Lexington County, South Carolina, to contact the Columbia Police about the drug charge. However, FBI databases did not have a record for the Columbia Police Department — only the West Columbia Police Department.

The FBI examiner never heard back from Lexington County officials about the clerical error, and Roof was able to purchase the gun after a three-day waiting period.

Roof has since pleaded guilty to multiple charges stemming from the shooting, including nine counts of murder.

BOULDER, Colo. — Hundreds gathered at Fairview High School in Boulder for the largest vigil yet to mourn the 10 lives that were taken in Monday's shooting at the Table Mesa King Soopers.

"We are just here to support all the families and to show our appreciation and love for our community," attendee Monica Augustine said. "To let the people who lost loved ones know that they are not alone."

The vigil was organized by Moms Demand Action. The group was created after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut to advocate for gun reform laws. The organizer said they will soon push for gun laws in Colorado, but that was not the purpose of this gathering.

"When we are feeling bold, we will act," said Nicole LiaBraaten, a volunteer with the Colorado branch of Moms Demand Action. "Tonight, the action that we are taking is to come together to support one another and honor the lives of the 10 victims that were taken through this senseless act of violence."

U.S. Congressman Joe Neguse, who represents Boulder, also spoke, saying that he would would push for new gun laws as well.

"It has been a devastating week for Boulder, Colorado, and I know many of us are still in shock — in disbelief, about the tragedy that happened just a few days ago," Neguse said. "We can change the laws, we can work to save lives to protect our communities to ensure that violent tragedies like those that happened this week wont happen again. And I promise with all the public servants here that we will work to make that a reality."

This story was originally published by Sloan Dickey at KMGH.

DENVER, Colo. — Gun sales hit record highs across the United States in the last year, with more African Americans buying guns than in years past, specifically Black women.

Some believe political unrest is driving higher sales. Others say it’s the new presidential administration threatening to tighten gun laws.

For the 1770 Armory and Gun Club that just started towards the end of 2020, it was about creating a welcoming safe space to learn.

Anubis Heru co-founded the Armory, which is settled in Denver's historic Five Points neighborhood. He realized his community had no place of their own to learn about guns.

"It's important to have someone that looks like you," said Heru. "When you're learning certain things, you just naturally feel more comfortable when you're learning from someone who understands your walk and where you're from."

And after last year, he knew it was needed.

"A lot of people don't feel safe with, you know, the current climate, with certain political groups that are in operation," explained Heru.

Now, the Black community has a space within the Armory to learn a powerful lesson.

"Your Second Amendment is something that doesn't guarantee your safety. It guarantees your ability to be able to defend yourself or fight back," said Heru.

That's why he's all about gun safety, education and practice.

All that training is easier at the Armory because the shooting range is a dry-fire shooting range, meaning there are no bullets, just laser cartridges that attach to guns. This saves people from buying expensive ammunition and helps to make a less intimidating environment for beginners.

"Whether from our Latino brethren or LGBTQ family, they all say pretty much the same thing is like, 'Hey, you know, we feel comfortable here.' So, that's one of the reasons that we're here, and for women especially," said Heru.

Heru said he was surprised how many women immediately signed up for classes and came out to the club’s live fire range nights. He’s glad women are seeing this gun club isn’t a boy's club.

"I just actually fell in love with it," said Jeanine Haliburton, who just joined the club.

She’s not alone. Women made 40% of gun purchases in 2020, and gun sales to Black Americans were up by 60%.

Almost half of the record-breaking 20 million guns sold last year were to first-time buyers, like Sonya Edwards.

"I finally said, 'let's do it,' because I think this is something that needed to be done in my heart," said Edwards. "We just need to be protected because any and everything is happening right now."

Both these women joined the club to find safety in a time of uncertainty.

"I think that's a fear for, you know, anybody of color," said Haliburton of worrying about safety.

That's why this club gives them comfort.

"We're not that soft target anymore," said Edwards. "You know, we're gaining knowledge, and we're starting to become a hard target."

Every night at the range is helping do that by breaking down barriers and building community.

"I like the armory because while they are Black-owned, they're not Black exclusive," said Edwards.

The group is helping to make gun ownership more accessible while giving these women a space in a male-dominated world.

"We’re like sisters. We can learn together. We can build together. We can cry together. We can laugh together. Just come on down," said Edwards.

Heru agrees this club was built for everyone, and he hopes it only grows for years to come.

"We're here for the community. We were created for the community, and the community is of all walks of life, colors, creeds, sexual orientations," said Heru "We're really honored and privileged to be here in this neighborhood."