FOX 32 Sunday: Reporter's Notebook: Families of gun violence - FOX 35 News Orlando

It's been a long couple of weeks for the parents of Hadiya Pendleton. We've followed the story of how their 15-year-old daughter was killed.

Two weeks after that shooting, they were the guest of First Lady Michelle Obama for the State of the Union address.

I traveled to Washington D.C. with the family. They were invited to the state of the address, but hours before that, Senator Dick Durbin held hearings and families from across the nation who lost loved ones to gun violence were asked to attend.

Sadly, there were eight families from the Chicago area---who knew all too well, the pain the Pendleton's are feeling.

Pam Bosley was in D.C. Her son was killed in 2006 on the South Side while leaving choir rehearsal. Pam Bosley says she cried during those hearings because she was reminded of how many lives are lost to guns.

Annette Nance Holt was in Washington last week. Her son, Blair, was killed in 2007 after leaving a high school on the south side. Police say a gunman opened fire on a CTA bus load of students.

During the State of the Union address, President Obama acknowledged the Pendleton family and the other families saying they deserve a vote and asking lawmakers to do more to pass common sense gun laws.

The president followed up that address by coming to town and addressing urban violence at Hyde Park academy. His speech started 45 minutes late. Some say Obama was spending time with the students trying to calm their fears. Those students are concerned about their own safety as they walk to and from school.