KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A crowd of at least 200 people gathered in Kansas City, Missouri, this past week to hear a congressman, the mayor and other leaders lament gun violence, a topic that was especially troubling in the wake of attacks in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.

The leaders urged residents to pressure politicians to pass gun control measures, The Kansas City Star reported .

Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II told the crowd Wednesday at Metropolitan Community College that as painful as the weekend attacks that killed 31 people were, he knows "it's going to happen again." Cleave...