As the House debated the Protecting Our Kids Act, U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, said what stood out to him most was how many members mentioned losing family members to gun violence or the mass shootings that have taken place in their district.

Hearing those stories, Mrvan said he thought of Lauren Calvillo, a 16-year-old who was fatally shot on her Beall Avenue porch in Hammond in June 2015. She died trying to get children to safety as gunfire rang out, he said.

Mrvan, who was the North Township Trustee at the time, said he met with Calvillo’s mother after the shooting and still keeps in contact with her.

“Her life will never be the same,” Mrvan said.

“It was something that has consistently stayed with me because nothing will ever bring Lauren back, and her mom was devastated by the loss.”

The debate about the Protecting Our Kids Act Wednesday made him realize, Mrvan said, that “we can absolutely have the moment to be able to make an impact.”

The House passed a wide-ranging gun control bill that would raise the age limit for purchasing a semi-automatic rifle and prohibit the sale of ammunition magazines with a capacity of more than 15 rounds.

The legislation passed by a mostly party-line vote of 223-204.

It has almost no chance of becoming law as the Senate pursues negotiations focused on improving mental health programs, bolstering school security and enhancing background checks.

But the House bill does allow Democratic lawmakers an opportunity to frame for voters in November where they stand on policies that polls show are widely supported.

The vote came after a House committee heard wrenching testimony from recent shooting victims and family members, including from 11-year-old Miah Cerrillo, who covered herself with a dead classmate’s blood to avoid being shot at the Uvalde elementary school.

Mrvan said he wasn’t in the committee room when the testimony was taking place because there was limited space and he had other committee meetings.

But, Mrvan said he watched portions of the testimony live and felt “pure empathy” for the parents.

“To have the parents ... testify on the loss of their child was, of course, heart wrenching. (It’s) something that you shouldn’t have to watch, and more importantly, the parents shouldn’t have to go through,” Mrvan said.

After the debate, Mrvan voted in favor of the Protecting Our Kids Act bill.

On Thursday, Mrvan said he also voted in favor of the “red flag” bill — that would allow families, police and others to ask federal courts to order the removal of firearms from people at extreme risk of harming themselves or others — because most law enforcement groups support the measure and it limits the access to guns for those who have been found to be a danger to themselves or others.

“I don’t want to take anyone’s guns away,” Mrvan said. “We want to prevent the next mass shooting to the best of our ability.”

Shootings and mass shootings take place across the country every day, Mrvan said, and the two pieces of legislation would address the issue.

“These pieces of legislation, in my opinion, are common sense,” Mrvan said. “I voted ‘yes’ on both of those common sense gun violence reform bills because I believe now is the time to take action to protect our kids, to protect our communities.”

The pieces of legislation also gives law enforcement a chance to respond to a potential shooting because a shooter wouldn’t have access to a semiautomatic weapon and bump stocks, Mrvan said.

“Let’s give our law enforcement a fighting chance to be able to protect themselves and to protect our communities,” Mrvan said.

Approving the bills was “a step in the right direction,” because if signed into law it would make schools, super markets and places of worship safer places, he said.

While the bills face an uphill battle in the Senate, Mrvan said he’s optimistic because a bipartisan Senate committee has met to work on gun reform legislation.

“It is encouraging that after this last tragedy that there’s bipartisan effort to find a solution to make our communities safer, to make our schools safer, to protect our children,” Mrvan said.