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In New Ad, Daughter Of Slain Sandy Hook Principal Urges Support for Clinton

NEWTOWN, CONN. – The daughter of the school principal killed in the Sandy Hook massacre is endorsing Hillary Clinton for president, saying the Democrat has fought hard to reform gun laws and is “someone who can change things.”

Erica Smegielski, the daughter of Sandy Hook principal Dawn Hochsprung, who died trying to protect school children from a gunman in 2012, appears in an ad supporting Hillary Clinton.

Photo Credit: Hillary Clinton
Dawn Hochsprung, principal of the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., died in 2012 while trying to protect her children and staff from gunman Adam Lanza. Her daughter, Erica Smegielski, is now appearing in an ad endorsing Hillary Clinton.

Dawn Hochsprung, principal of the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., died in 2012 while trying to protect her children and staff from gunman Adam Lanza. Her daughter, Erica Smegielski, is now appearing in an ad endorsing Hillary Clinton.

Photo Credit: casciac.org

Erica Smegielski, daughter of Dawn Hochsprung, who died trying to protect school children from gunman Adam Lanza in 2012, appears in an ad that began airing Wednesday in Connecticut and Rhode Island.

“No one is fighting harder to reform our gun laws than Hillary Clinton,” said Smegielski in the ad. “She is the only candidate who has what it takes to take on the gun lobby. She reminds me of my mother: she isn’t scared of anything.”

Clinton said her meetings with those impacted by gun violence have deepened her "commitment to stand up to the gun lobby and enact commonsense gun-safety measures.”

Among the things Clinton said she backs are comprehensive background checks, the ending of immunity protections for irresponsible gun manufacturers and dealers and laws to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers, violent criminals and the mentally ill.

On Tuesday night, Smegielski joined Clinton in New York City at an event.

Clinton said Smegielski has “made it her mission to advocate for common sense gun safety reform.”

She compared Smegielski to others who have lost loved ones to gun violence, such as the mother of Eric Garner. Like them, she said, Smegielski “has turned her sorrow into a strategy and her mourning into a movement.”

Smegielski planned to join Clinton for an event Thursday in Hartford.

Clinton, coming off a win in the New York primary, has emphasized her position on guns as a difference between herself and her rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

According to a report by The Huffington Post, Sanders voted for a 2005 law that protected gun makers and dealers from lawsuits brought over the use of their products.

Sanders has since said he would consider altering, but not repealing, the law, the Huffington Post reported.

Connecticut's primaries are set for April 26.

To read the Huffington Post story, click here. 

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