Elected officials, high school students and the parents of gun violence victims aimed to change the debate over gun control at a conference in Hartford Friday.

Young people have increasingly raised their voices in the national debate after 17 people were killed in a Parkland, Florida, high school last week. 

Lane Murdock and her classmates from Ridgefield High School are organizing a national student protest on April 20 -- the anniversary of the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado.

They're joining others who have been demanding stricter gun control for years.

"What happened in Parkland seemed very similar to Sandy Hook, and that made it difficult for us," said Mark Barden, whose son was killed in the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.

Murdock's protest is already gaining traction on social media under the hashtag #NationalSchoolWalkout.

Several other protests launched by high school students around the nation are also underway, including “March for Our Lives.”

Elected officials noted that they believe the political climate is changing, the very recipe required for passing new laws on issues related to gun control, like background checks and semi-automatic weapons.