Shortly after the fatal shooting of 20 students and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) traveled to the state capital of Hartford to attend a roundtable on gun violence .

Murphy expected the group gathered there would commiserate about the national tragedy that had so recently unfolded and offer their support for a swift legislative response. But what he discovered was frustration.

The families and the advocates there are furious, Murphy recalls. Furious. A lot of compassion for what happened in Newtown but they dont understand why it is this that caused me to care about this issue when theyve been going through it for years and years.

It was a wake-up call for Murphy. Many more would come in the subsequent months.

On this episode of the Candidate Confessional podcast, Murphy talks about how his eyes were opened to the epidemic of gun violence. He had represented Newtown as a congressman and had often given rote responses to questions on gun control before the shooting took place.

I gave an NRA [talking point] answer and Im so embarrassed about that now, he says.