WASHINGTON — According to data collected by the Gun Violence Archive, more than 160 mass shootings have taken place in 2023 alone. Two mass shootings happened in Louisville just in the last two weeks.

The shooting at the Old National Bank downtown left five people dead, and eight others injured. Just five days later, a shooter at Chickasaw Park killed two people and injured four. 

“My Hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, was ripped apart by two mass shootings,” said Rep. Morgan McGarvey, D-Ky., at a press conference at the Capitol on Tuesday. 

McGarvey, Kentucky’s only Democrat in Congress, advocated for stricter gun safety laws when he served as a state senator in Frankfort. Now, as a freshman member of the U.S. House of Representatives, he finds himself front and center of the national conversation on guns. 

“We have to do more,” McGarvey said. “Take my word for it, take the word for it from the other members of Congress who have suffered the same thing in their communities where their communities are grieving, and their friends and families and neighbors are grieving.” 

McGarvey spoke about how the Louisville community is a close-knit group and emphasized that the entire community was impacted. McGarvey lost his good friend, Tommy Elliott, in the shooting at Old National Bank. 

McGarvey, surrounded by several other members of the Kentucky delegation, paid an emotional tribute to those who died and those who are still fighting for their lives. 

“In the coming days and weeks, we will take up the fight on gun violence, but today, I ask everyone to join me in remembering those we lost,” McGarvey said to his colleagues. 

The Biden Administration renewed its push to Congress after the shooting at Old National Bank, asking lawmakers to enact mandatory background checks for all gun sales and eliminate gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability. On Monday, Biden once again called for a ban on military style military-style semi-automatic guns.

Last week, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., told Spectrum News that he doesn’t think stricter gun regulations will provide solutions to violence.

“Unfortunately, we can’t legislate against evil and we have evil people in America,” Comer said. “We have people who have mental health crises in America.” 

With Republicans in control of the House, it’s unlikely any major gun reform could pass this legislative term. 

Since the mass shooting in Louisville’s Chickasaw Park on April 15, there have been 10 more mass shootings in the U.S., including one over the weekend in Alabama that killed four and injured 32 others at a Sweet 16 birthday party.