First lady Michelle Obama officially weighed in on the gun control debate being waged across the country, urging the Senate to pass new gun control measures in a speech she gave in Chicago on Wednesday.
"Right now my husband is fighting as hard and engaging as many people as he can to pass common-sense reforms to protect our children from gun violence. These reforms deserve a vote in Congress," she said.
Obama spoke before an audience of business and civic leaders that included the family and friend of Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old girl who was shot and killed in Chicago shortly after performing in President Obama's inaugural ceremonies in Washington, D.C. earlier this year.
"Let me tell you, it is hard to know what to say to a room full of teenagers who are about to bury their best friend," the first lady said, choking back tears. "But I started by telling them that Hadiya was clearly on her way to doing something truly worthy with her life. I told them that there is a reason that we're here on this earth, that each of us has a mission in this world, and I urged them to use their lives to give meaning to Hadiya's life."
Obama compared Pendleton's path to her own, noting that both grew up on the South Side of Chicago and struggled to overcome the threats of poverty and violence.
"As I visited with the Pendleton family at Hadiya's funeral, I couldn't get over how familiar they felt to me, because what I realized was Hadiya's family was just like my family. Hadiya Pendleton was me, and I was her. But I got to grow up and go to Princeton and Harvard Law School and have a career and a family and the most blessed life I could ever imagine. And Hadiya -- well, we know that story."
The Senate begins deliberations on new gun regulations on Thursday.