WASHINGTON — Michelle Obama urged Congress to pass gun control legislation in Chicago Wednesday, getting emotional as she talked about the impact of gun violence on one victim made famous by the second Obama inauguration.
Obama "took a rare step for any first lady into the legislative fight of the hour" when she echoed her husband's line that gun control proposals "deserve a vote," according to the Washington Post's Phil Rucker.
Then the First Lady talked about Hadiya Pendleton, the 15-year-old shot and killed in Chicago just days after participating in a presidential inauguration parade in Washington. Obama attended Pendleton's funeral earlier this year. It was clear from Obama's speech Wednesday that the Pendleton shooting had an emotional impact on Obama.
"Hadiya's family was just like my family. Hadiya Pendleton was me. And I was her. But I got to grow up," Obama said. "Hadiya's family did everything right, but she still didn't have a chance."