PHILADELPHIA - Gun control was a big theme of Wednesday's Democratic National Convention.
Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy's fight over the issue earned him a high-profile spot at the DNC in Philadelphia, where Democrats used their platform to - once again - push for tougher gun laws.
Throughout the day, the stage was being set and rehearsals were underway for celebrity and political headliners. The DNC wanted to them to bring attention to the party's platform, which includes the push for gun control legislation.
Murphy got a prime speaking spot at the convention. He has been a vocal advocate of gun control leading a nearly 15-hour filibuster on the issue last month.
Murphy said he's "furious" about the lack of progress on gun control in the years since 20 first-graders and six adults were killed at the Connecticut school.
Murphy said Republicans in Congress have done "absolutely nothing to prevent the next massacre."
“It is time to take Washington back from the gun lobby!” said Murphy. "“There is no reason to feel helpless about the horrifying trajectory of cascading massacres. We can change this.”
The daughter of the principal shot dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Erica Smegielski, is a big supporter of Hillary Clinton. She's been in television ads and made an appearance with the presidential nominee during her visit to Hartford.
After Murphy, Smegielski addressed the convention, putting a face to gun violence.
"I should not be here tonight. I don't want to be here tonight," said Smegielski. "But my mom was murdered so I'm here tonight. I’m here without my mother while too many politicians cower behind the gun lobby.”
Democrats are paying tribute to the victims of the June attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, and the 2012 shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.
Christine Leinonen tells the crowd at the Democratic convention that her son — Christopher "Drew" Leinonen — always brought people together and started a gay-straight alliance in school.
He was one of the 49 patrons killed at the Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. She said son's grandparents met in a Japanese internment camp "so it was in his DNA that love always trumps hate."
