Murphy, Esty pledge to combat gun violence

Vice President Joe Biden administers the Senate Oath to Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., accompanied by his wife Catherine and sons Rider and Owen, right, during a mock swearing in ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013, as the 113th Congress officially began. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci) Photo: Evan Vucci, ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 03: Rider Murphy raises his hand just like his father, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) (L) as he participates in a reenacted swearing-in with his wife Catherine Murphy and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden in the Old Senate Chamber at the U.S. Capitol January 3, 2013 in Washington, DC. Biden swore in the newly-elected and re-elected senators earlier in the day on the floor of the current Senate chamber. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Photo: Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images

Elizabeth Esty Photo: Carol Kaliff

Family and friends of Chris Murphy gathered in Washington on Thursday for the swearing in of Murphy as the new senator from Connecticut. Murphy, with a temporary office in the basement of a Senate office building, greets his family, down from Cheshire, Conn., for the big day. Murphy and his wife, Cathy Holahan, are showing their two sons Owen, 3 years old, and Rider, 1, around the office. Photo: Charles J. Lewis/Hearst Newspape, Charles J. Lewis