UNC students rally for gun control

More than 100 students advocating for gun control rallied at UNC Chapel Hill Thursday.

Democratic Congressman David Price, Vice Chair of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, spoke at the rally.

UNC student Shannon Taflinger, a senior, said she had the idea for the rally and organized it with the help of the UNC Young Democrats and support from other student groups.

Students said they want to see legislation that keeps guns out of the hands of the mentally ill and want to ban AR-15s.

But not all students agree.

"I don't think necessarily banning AR-15 rifles is going to stop gun violence in the country," said UNC student Zach Kosnitzky, who said he is a registered Republican. "I think only about 1 percent of all gun crimes are committed with assault rifles. They seem scary and they were used by the last two mass shooters."

Rally organizers called out Republican lawmakers Senators Thom TIllis and Richard Burr for accepting contributions from the NRA.

"I want to elect officials who will be supportive of gun control," said UNC student Aidan Hennessy, who is a member of the UNC Young Democrats. "That's why I'm saying vote like your life depends on it and why I'm saying take your anger to the ballot boxes."

Senator Tillis' office sent this statement:

"Senator Tillis has long supported policies that balance the need to protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens with commonsense measures to keep firearms away from those who represent a danger to society. Senator Tillis recently co-sponsored the Fix NICS Act, bipartisan legislation that would enhance compliance and accuracy of the background check system and help ensure firearms stay out of the hands of criminals."

Students tell ABC11 they're planning another rally Friday from 10 am until 2 pm.