DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) — The weekend after the mass shooting in El Paso and Dayton, gun safety activists arranged a forum attended by more than a dozen of the Democrats running for president.

There has been heavy candidate traffic in Iowa this weekend because of the Iowa State Fair and the traditional fair candidate soapbox and Friday’s Iowa Wing Ding Dinner.

A number of the candidates addressed the recent shooting in their remarks at both those events.

But on the stage at the forum, guns, gun safety, gun violence, and dangerous rhetoric took the focus.

Hosted by Everytown For Gun Safety, Moms Demand Action, and Students Demand Action, a number of presidential candidates faced moderator and audience questions.

The attendees listened to each candidate very carefully.

The audience included activists, survivors with personal stories, and people who just want lawmakers to do something in the wake of two more mass shootings.

“The opportunity of a lifetime, to see and hear the Democratic presidential candidates speak to gun violence,” said one attendee. “This is so huge.”

“My son, Nathaniel McKelvin III, we called him Nate,” said another. “He was only 21, sitting on the porch, in Columbia, South Carolina. He was the love of our family.”

“It seems like there have been enough repeats of these sad incidents like that,” said a third attendee. “That’s there’s no excuse for not doing something.”

The night before the forum, Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan said the mass shooting in Dayton hit very close to home for him. He said, for many, last weekend could be the turning point.

“The stories are powerful and I think Americans are fed up,” Ryan said. “You know, I think, El Paso when you went to bed, and Dayton when you woke up in the morning kind of work everyone up, and I think this is different.”