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Debate over gun control at the forefront again with more mass shootings

Firearm sales are up, and so is the interest in gun reform. Both sides find impassioned support as the nation reels from two mass shootings within 13 hours.

ST. LOUIS — The open sign flashes at Southern Armory as it does every Sunday, but owner Aaron Tarlow said business had picked up as it usually does after a mass shooting tragedy.

"When they started talking about banning those items, [bump stocks] immediately sold out," Tarlow said of bump stocks, which were heavily criticized after they were involved in the Las Vegas massacre. "We couldn't get them at the wholesaler. We had two in stock that were gone within the first day or two." 

Tarlow said the solution to mass murder doesn't lie in restricting his business. He blames the country's mental health system and advocates for a streamlined background check process.

"Missouri has 21 days after you've been adjudicated as mentally incompetent to update the FBI," Tarlow said. "That's a 21-day window for you to potentially go buy a firearm."

READ MORE: 29 dead in 13 hours: 2 mass shootings shake America

Tarlow also said states do not have a uniform method for reporting questionable purchasers. He said Missouri firearms dealers take concerns to the FBI, while his Illinois counterparts call the Illinois State Police.

"I've had so many friends reach out to me even in the last 24 hours saying, 'I know you do this type of stuff. How do I get involved?,'" gun prevention activist Kim Westerman said. 

A volunteer for Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense in America, Westerman spent the weekend in Washington, D.C. at the group's annual conference. While focused on eliminating gun violence, news came in of the country's two most recent mass shootings.

"Yesterday was a hard day," Westerman said. "We were all together when we heard about El Paso, and it sort of rippled around the room."

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About 2,000 volunteers met in the capital to organize and rally. Sixty people came from the Missouri chapter alone

Westerman said that about 400 attendees gathered Saturday night for an unplanned march to the White House, compelled to action by the country's tragedies.

The Missouri delegation said they will spend the week urging the Show-Me State's congressional representatives to back House Resolution 8, bipartisan legislation requiring universal background checks.

"I hope people feel this," Westerman said. "I think we're all feeling sad today, but we shouldn't despair or be despondent. We should be fired up and make our voices heard."

Contact reporter Sara Machi on Facebook and Twitter.

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