In the crushing ABC interview below, the mother of a man who was inside Pulse Orlando during this morning's mass shooting describes waiting to hear whether her son is OK.

Christine Leinonen says she heard from a friend of her son, Christopher Leinonen, that Christopher's boyfriend "had multiple gunshots and was being taken by the ambulance but he never saw Christopher [come] out. And we haven't been able to call him or text him."

Near the end of the interview, Christine Leinonen describes her son's activism in his local LGBT community and begs for peace.

“Please," she says, sobbing, "can we do something with the assault weapons so that we can stop this club [of people affected by gun violence] from getting any new members... We’re on this Earth for such a short time. Let’s try to get rid of the hatred and the violence. Please."

Christine Leinonen is one of many family members scrambling to find out whether their loved ones are OK. Jose Honorato told reporters he doesn't know whether his brother Miguel, who was in the club last night, is alive. "I want some information," he said. "Somebody give me some information."

Orlando city officials have released only a short list of some of the victims' names. UPDATE, 6/13: The latest list of victims shows both Christopher Leinonen and Miguel Honorato were killed.

At the risk of repeating a cliché: Thoughts and prayers are not enough. Demand more from your lawmakers and if they don't act, vote them out.