Joe Biden composed himself as Crystal Turner finished telling the story of her daughter and son being shot and killed in 2015.

"There is nothing in the world that can ever prepare you for getting the call that your world has been shattered. Not once, but twice," Turner said of the day she learned that her daughter’s husband had killed her two children.

Biden, whose wife and daughter were killed in a car crash in 1972, reflected on his own grief as he turned to Turner from the podium in Columbus’ Driving Park Community Center on Tuesday.

"When you have a tragic loss, no matter how long ago it was, when you bring it up everything comes back. You relive it. You relive that moment," the former vice president said during a campaign stop in Columbus on Monday.

Flanked by about two dozen supporters from gun safety groups, Biden said he would work to close loopholes and change laws that allow guns to get in the hands of those who would use them for violence.

That includes the semi-automatic gun and 100-round drum magazine that a shooter used to kill 9 and injure 17 in under 30 seconds in Dayton’s Oregon District in August.

"Assault weapons and high-capacity magazines are designed for no purpose other than to kill quickly and as brutally as possible. No one needs them," he said.

Biden’s stop in Columbus to talk about his position on gun regulations was the latest attempt by his campaign to draw a contrast between his own record and that of his last remaining opponent, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Earlier in the day Tuesday, Biden was caught in a viral moment when he used an expletive to respond to a man who accused him of "actively trying to end our Second Amendment right" during a Detroit auto plant visit.

Asked by media after the Columbus event whether it was appropriate to swear at someone asking a question, Biden did not respond.

"Today's event in Columbus followed the latest Joe Biden meltdown and was a great contrast to President Trump’s efforts to protect the Second Amendment. I just hope that this time he was able to control his anger and avoid verbally assaulting any working men or women who might ask him a tough question," said Bob Paduchik, an Ohio native and senior adviser to Trump’s campaign, in a prepared statement.

Biden’s campaign is highlighting the "distinction" of Biden’s record on guns, said Greg Schultz, campaign manager.

Biden has pointed to his support of a 1993 bill named for James Brady, who was caught in the crossfire of an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan, that required a five-day waiting period to buy a gun, and an assault weapons ban in 1994.

In 2005, Biden opposed a proposal that Sanders supported that would protect manufacturers and sellers of guns from lawsuits in some situations.

The gun control debate has been raging in Ohio for years, with Democratically controlled municipalities enacting gun legislation that attempts to get around pre-emption laws written by the GOP-controlled Ohio General Assembly.

For instance, Columbus instituted a ban on bump stocks in 2018 as part of a broader package of measures meant to control gun violence, but gun rights groups sued to overturn the ban. The case is pending before the Ohio Supreme Court.

Biden called out Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein and Mayor Andrew J. Ginther for their support of that measure.

But the fight reached a crescendo after the shooting in Dayton in August.

It prompted chants of "Do Something" days later from a crowd gathered at a memorial service where Gov. Mike DeWine was speaking. DeWine proposed a multi-pronged approach to fighting gun violence, but state lawmakers so far have not taken up the governor’s plan.

The STRONG Ohio bill would increase penalties for certain gun crimes, create a voluntary background-check system for private sales and expand civil commitment or "pink slip" laws to include a process for removing firearms from their owner.

Former Gov. John Kasich also had pursued a package of gun reforms before leaving office, but the legislature rejected his proposal.

On Tuesday, Biden’s campaign announced a new endorsement from the Newtown Action Alliance, an organization that formed to advocate for gun safety after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012.

Two other national gun safety groups, Everytown for Gun Safety and Brady: United Against Gun Violence, also have endorsed Biden.

Moms Demand Founder President Kris Brown said her organization is supporting Biden because he will fight for a new assault weapons ban, expand background checks and hold gun manufacturers accountable for gun violence.

"There is no candidate in this race as committed to this cause as Joe Biden," she said.

Turner said she was choosing to support Biden over Sanders because of the personal connection that they share.

"He touched my heart," Turner said. "He is also someone that we, unfortunately, share the same bond of a loss of children."

She said has bonded with Biden over their shared loss of loved ones, and that Biden supports her goal to enact gun regulations. She added that she was an early supporter of Biden's candidacy.

"I followed him from the beginning of this career and I have supported a lot of the laws and changes he has made," Turner said.

rrouan@dispatch.com

@RickRouan