(Harrisburg) -- A woman whose son was among the victims of a mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school in December is urging Pennsylvania state lawmakers to change a law that allows private sales of rifles to be conducted without background checks.

Francine Lobis Wheeler spoke earlier today at a House Judiciary hearing on the background check system.

Wheeler's son Ben was among 20 first-graders who were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

The hearing was informational and not related to any specific proposal, although there's a bill pending in the House to mandate background checks for all firearms purchases.

 State Police officials say the commonwealth's instant check system for gun purchases processed more than one million calls last year, a record high since it began in 1998.