BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - With talk of stricter gun laws sweeping the nation, Kern county locals are speaking out on Obama's gun law proposal. Joel Engel, an employee at Bakersfield Gun Club, said "military style" assault weapons should not be blamed for unlawful shootings.

"The problem here in the world is no matter where these horrific tragedy shootings happen, it's the people. It's not the gun's fault."

Candi Easter, chairperson of the Kern County Democratic party, is open to the idea of banning assault weapons.

"Especially the ones with the mega clips that can shoot one hundred bullets in a minute, I don't see any reason for those at all."

Background checks are also a hot topic in the debate on gun control. Easter and Engel agree that background checks are necessary when selling a firearm.

"I think that the background check portion of it is pretty fair. It's always a good thing to make sure the right people are getting the right stuff," Engel said.

"I think improving the background checks would probably cut down on a lot of the problems we've been having," Easter said.

Obama's proposal to limit large ammunition magazines already exists in California, but Easter said stricter gun laws should be enforced throughout the country.

"A person can go into Arizona or Nevada or some other neighboring state and buy weapons that would not be legal here in California."