“Latinos are here because of the American dream, and it is really hard to do that when you are worried about your kids’ safety,” said Taddeo, a state senator who is challenging a Republican congresswoman, María Elvira Salazar.

Spanish-language media have given wide coverage both to the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, a predominantly Hispanic area, and to the penalty trial of the shooter who attacked a high school in Parkland, Florida, in 2018.

Gabrielle Giffords, who survived a 2011 shooting in Tucson that killed six and injured more than a dozen, chose Florida for a state-specific initiative and selected a slate of candidates to support.

Greg Abbott, using remarks he made at one of the news conferences after the Robb Elementary school shooting in his state, when he said it “could have been worse” while initially praising the law enforcement response to the shooting.

“It’s a kitchen-table issue,” said Peter Ambler, executive director of Giffords, the gun control group.

“We think we have a real opportunity, specifically in Florida, where there have been so many high-profile, tragic acts of gun violence, where there is such an epidemic of gun violence, to really shift votes.”.

Isabel Caballero, a 96-year-old Cuban woman, said she would not support any gun restrictions.

But other Cubans who had arrived later in Miami said they were more willing to support a change, saying they thought it was not right for children to be afraid at school.