ATLANTA — Gun violence was at the forefront of two major rallies in Atlanta on Saturday.
Last week, Atlanta was again back in the national headlines after a gunman walked into a Midtown office building and opened fire, killing Amy St. Pierre, 38, and wounding four others.
Now, the call for action is coming from mothers, on the eve of the day which honors them.
Mothers, fathers, and kids alike were pounding the pavement.
Mimi Krauss is a mother of two.
"My young children have been in lockdown three times for active shooter situations. And they are seven and four," Krauss said. "Enough is enough."
The first rally was at Piedmont Park, the second was at the corner of Virginia Avenue and North Highland Avenue, in Atlanta. Many of the women brought their children along with them.
Sally Woods is an organizer with Neighbors for Action.
"We want to protect all people who have been impacted by gun violence," Woods said. "Every, single one of us is one story — one heartbeat away from being impacted directly by gun violence."
Both rallies were motivated by school shootings, mass shootings, and, most recently the shooting in Midtown. St. Pierre's name came up a few times from those who participated in the rallies. She was also a mother of two.
Instead of kicking their feet up and getting spoiled this Mother's Day weekend, these moms are standing up for something more important.
Angela Ferrell-Zabala is the executive director of Moms Demand Action.
"We don't want flowers and candy," Ferrell-Zabala said. "We want you to reinstate the assault weapons ban."
Courtney Spriggs, the deputy chapter leader for Moms Demand Action, Georgia, echoed those sentiments.
"We're focused on reinstating the federal assault weapons ban because a lot of the mass shootings that occur happen from AR-15s," Spriggs said.
Spriggs believes reinstating the ban from 1994 would reduce those shootings.
Organizers say the goal is to push for common-sense gun policies, gun safety, and an end to gun violence.
"We're tired of seeing mass shootings on the news. We're tired of the devastation in our communities," Ferrell-Zabala said. "And we also know that there are many shootings that happen day-to-day in communities of color, in particular, that don't even break a headline. So, we're fed up with all of it."
And state Rep. Shea Roberts says it starts with putting pressure on lawmakers.
"It does make me frustrated that we're still having to beg and plead for something that makes so much sense," Roberts, a Democrat, said. "I mean, seatbelts weren't a partisan issue. We all agreed on that. I don't understand how the number-one killer of our children and teens in this country, that we can't figure out some way to work this out."