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Fiona Yates, 3, and her brother Liam, 5, of Ardmore, Pa., gather at the Capitol Rotunda along with members of CeaseFirePA, Mayors Against Illegal Guns and others to support tighter gun control.

(Anna Orso)

It’s been nearly six months since Adam Lanza rained bullets upon 20 children and six adults at Newtown Elementary School – his shooting spree setting off a firestorm of public outcry and calls across the nation for stricter gun regulations.

In April, a federal bill to expand background checks prior to the purchase of a gun was voted down in the U.S. Senate.

So Wednesday, more than 150 state legislators, leaders and pro-gun regulation groups gathered in the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg to push for tighter control of guns and gun purchases in Pennsylvania. The word “Newtown” was uttered by nearly every speaker who took to the lectern.

“Even after Newtown, even after week after week of tragedies that play out across our Commonwealth and across our country, it’s only going to happen if you all, the citizens, demand that it happens,” said State Rep. Steve Santarsiero, D-Bucks.

Those at the gun violence prevention rally – including representatives from Mayors Against Illegal Guns, CeaseFirePA, Mothers in Charge and others – are supporting three bills in particular:

Boyle’s limit on high-capacity magazines bill, perhaps the boldest of the three measures, is about “protecting human life,” he said.

It'll also be difficult to pass through with Second Amendment groups and gun control opponents lobbying legislators. In April, hundreds rallied at the Capitol in support of the Second Amendment and to oppose gun control laws like Santarsiero's.

Among the legislators were about 20 women donning blue and white T-shirts representing Mothers in Charge, a violence prevention group based in Philadelphia in which many of its members have lost a son, daughter or loved one to gun violence.

Dorothy Johnson-Speight, the founder and executive director of Mothers in Charge, called the bills supported Wednesday “common sense,” and said she has to stand up for them in memory of her son.

In 2001, Khaaliq Jabbar Johnson was shot at age 24 over a parking space dispute. He was a University of Maryland graduate employed as a social worker who had dreams of working with his mother to counsel underprivileged kids.

“I am determined, and we have to be determined to get this done,” Johnson-Speight said. “How could we not do this?”

Chester Mayor John Linder -- who helped organize the event as part of Mayors Against Illegal Guns along with Swarthmore Mayor Rick Lowe – said he expects the expansion of background checks to pass eventually on the state and federal level.

“Everyone is in agreement on this except the very few,” he said.

Harrisburg Mayor Linda Thompson, who has worked with Mayors Against Illegal Guns in the past, was not present at the rally.