The parents of the kids slain by a gunman in Newtown Connecticut, showed up in a heated debate in the New Jersey assembly over large-capacity gun magazines.
Mothers like Nelba Marquez wish her kid had been among those who reportedly escaped in the time it took Adam Lanza to reload in a classroom.
"I want them (the legislators) to take those large capacity gun rounds, the same way they (the bullets) took away my daughter Anna," said Marquez Green, mother of 6 year old Anna Green, one of the 25 kids murdered in the Sandy Hook tragedy.
Many families of the victims went directly to Trenton to urge the state Senate to limit magazines to 10 bullets.
Hundreds of gun owners complain that limiting magazines to 10 rounds would be inconvenient, because they'd have to reload a bit more often than if they were using 15-round magazines.
Among the bill supporters was New Jersey Assembly majority leader, Louis Greenwald, who believes that banning large-capacity magazines won't stop mass shootings, but will limit the number of victims.
"They have called on us to strengthen New Jersey's gun laws in order to ensure that other families do not have to face the same unimaginable loss," said Greenwald.
But despite the efforts to put in place a new regulation, Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) has refused to put this bill up for a vote as part of the gun control package.
Sweeney said 15-round magazines are used by "people I deal with every day, guys when I walk into a union hall, who are just sportsmen."
Latino leaders also showed up to the Law and Public Safety Committee hearing supporting the families and the need of a legislation.
"The families of the Newtown shooting victims carry an unimaginable grief, but they also carry an amazing inner-strength. I will never forget meeting with them today," said Assemblyman Vincent Prieto.
The Senate committee is scheduled to continue its deliberations on the gun bills this week.
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