CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Across the Carolinas, people on both sides of the gun debate are reacting to the president's speech following two mass shootings over the weekend that left 31 people dead.
El Paso, Texas. Dayton, Ohio. Two cities were torn apart, and the call for action was immediate.
President Trump addressed the nation Monday morning.
"We vow to act with urgent resolve," he said.
One of the first acts he wanted to see was red flag laws which would allow a judge to restrict a person who poses a threat to themselves or others from accessing or buying a firearm.
Seventeen states have red flag laws. The Carolinas are not among them.
"Enough is well past enough. It's time for action," said North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein.
"There's steps that we can take, common-sense steps that we can take that will get guns out of people's hands," Stein told WCNC.
Inside one of the largest gun stores in Charlotte, there's worry emotion is going to lead to a rush in regulation.
"With such outcry of, 'We've gotta do something; we've gotta do something,' you get some really bad laws passed with that kind of emotion," said shop owner Larry Hyatt.
Hyatt said he knows guns in the hands of the mentally ill can be deadly, and the right red flag laws could make us all safer.
"Red flag laws definitely could help; they could be abused as well. And I think if written properly and implemented properly, they could be valuable," Hyatt said.
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham went on Monday saying he's proposing bipartisan legislation to encourage more states to adopt red flag laws.
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