CHICAGO — Vice President Kamala Harris was back in Chicago on Friday to speak at a conference on gun safety.

The Vice President was the headline speaker at the Everytown for Gun Safety’s annual training conference.

At the conference, Harris discussed how leaders are working together in the fight against gun violence.

“Gun violence is the leading cause of death of the children in America. It’s the number one cause of death, not some kind of disease,” Vice President Harris said.

Speaking to thousands of gun violence survivors, volunteers and student leaders, Harris spoke about what she described as the need for more common-sense gun safety laws and told the crowd that the activist work they do is making a difference.

“You are putting the pressure on the folks who are on the inside to act, it matters,” Harris said.

Many of those who attended the conference were Moms Demand Action members and Students Demand Action volunteers from across the country.

Audience members asked the vice president questions about what is being done and what they can do to make a difference.

“I mean, it was pretty impactful when she pointed right at me and said, ‘You’re the generation that is going to fix this,'” 17-year-old Erin DeSantis said.

The Vice President’s words hit hard for many who came out to see her.

“We have so much more to do and I love what she said about solutions don’t require creativity we know what the solutions are but what we lack is leaders with moral courage to act,” Annie Andrews, Pediatrician, Moms Demand Action Volunteer and Senior Advisor in Everytown, said.

Harris’ visit comes just as the Illinois Supreme Court ruled to uphold the state’s assault weapons ban, which was top of mind for state leaders attending the conference.

“She says it just right. Being safe is a civil right. To be free from gun violence is something we should all be able to experience and here in Illinois we got one step closer to the work that we need to do to make sure every community is safe,” said Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton.

Harris reminded the crowd of the importance of voting and said that it falls on elected leaders to pass common-sense gun policies.

It was the Vice President’s third visit to Chicago this summer.