July 7, 2022

Dear Friend,

 
I am grieving with our neighbors in Highland Park, who experienced senseless murders and terror earlier this week. These tragedies have touched too many communities in Illinois and across the country.  

We must do more to address our country’s gun violence crisis. 

Whether it's at school, work, a concert, a place of worship, or their own home, everyone deserves to feel safe. Gun violence is a public health epidemic that is absolutely devastating for families, students, and teachers across our country. We need to act now to save lives.    

I support enacting commonsense, life-saving legislation, which is why I voted to pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. This comprehensive legislation would: 

• Require longer, enhanced background checks for gun buyers under the age of 21. 

• Crack down on gun trafficking and straw purchases to ensure guns are not purchased by people who are barred from purchasing a gun themselves. 

• Increase funding for mental health and supportive services in schools to protect children through early identification and intervention programs, school-based mental health programs, improvements to school-wide learning conditions, and school safety. 

Passing this legislation was a major step toward addressing the root cause of gun violence across our country, but we must do more to end our country’s horrific gun violence crisis. The Senate must pass the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, passed by the House last year, to crack down on gun sales done online and at gun shows. 

I have received an influx of messages since the Highland Park shooting from constituents who are feeling concerned and fearful about the countless incidents of gun violence we have experienced. 

I will do everything I can to end the gun violence crisis in our country and save lives. 

Sincerely,