California is one of the few states that has passed significant gun control legislation since the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Saturday will mark one year since the tragedy. With another school shooting in Colorado Friday, gun control advocates said there's still more work to do.
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"We're always fighting that tide," said Shikha Hamilton of the California Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. "Here in California we've passed significant legislation and that's all that matters."
Nearly a dozen new laws have passed in California since Newtown to restrict access to guns. But nationally of the 109 laws passed by states, 70 or two-thirds actually loosen restrictions on gun ownership, while 39 make owning a gun more difficult.
"Senseless violence is just that, senseless," said Brenda Grisham, mother of a shooting victim. "And a lot of people think there's nothing that can be done. Cause a lot of people think there's nothing you can do."
MORE: Sandy Hook: One Year Later
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Brisham lost her 17-year-old son to gun violence in Oakland three years ago. She's one of five women with sons or brothers killed on Oakland streets who just returned from Washington, D.C., where they were pushing members of Congress to pass a law requiring universal background checks.
"We are honoring our loved ones with action," said Stacy Hogg, sister of a shooting victim. "And to do something about what's going on in our city."
