[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 12 (Tuesday, January 23, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S207-S208]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NATIONAL GUN VIOLENCE SURVIVORS WEEK
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I would like to take a moment to honor the
sixth annual National Gun Violence Survivors Week.
This week, we recognize the unbelievable toll of gun violence in
America, and we offer our support to the survivors who are left behind.
No State or city is safe from the epidemic of gun violence. Just
yesterday, in Joliet, IL, less than an hour outside of Chicago, seven
lives were taken within minutes by a shooter with a gun.
Joliet Police Chief Bill Evans said:
I've been a police officer for 29 years, and this is the
worst crime scene I've ever been associated with.
In Highland Park, IL, a shooter with an assault rifle fired 83 rounds
in less than 60 seconds at a Fourth of July parade in 2022, killing
seven innocent people and wounding dozens before law enforcement could
finally even identify where he was. So much for the theory of a good
person with a gun stopping a bad person with a gun. When it comes to
assault rifles, that is not even in the realm of possibility.
Katie Gillman is one of many of my constituents who was there in
Highland Park. She was with her husband and two daughters to see the
Fourth of July parade when the shooter opened fire on the crowd. She
and her children ran for their lives. Katie still lives in fear that
what happened that day could happen again and that she may not be able
to protect her kids this time.
She recently wrote to me and said:
For close to a year, I have had a deep-seated fear that my
children won't make it through the school day due to gun
violence. And each week in the news, there is proof of these
fears.
The unfortunate reality is that Americans are forced to worry about
whether their kids will be safe from gun violence at school, at the
movies, at concerts, and at church--virtually everywhere.
Since 2020, the United States has suffered more than 600 mass
shootings each year--almost 2 a day. There is no place in America that
has been spared. And guns are now the No. 1 cause of death for American
kids and teenagers. Think of that. In the entire world, it is in
America that the No. 1 cause of death of kids and teenagers is guns. It
is not auto accidents, not cancer--guns.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that an editorial opinion,
published this morning in the Sun-Times, entitled ``Illinois' ban on
assault weapons is working,'' be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
[From the Chicago Sun Times, Jan. 23, 2024]
Illinois' Ban on Assault Weapons Is Working
(By Kathleen Sances)
One year ago, the Protect Illinois Communities Act
effectively and immediately stopped the sale of assault
weapons in the state.
There was no sunset, no grace period. Just an immediate
halt to the manufacturing and sale of assault weapons that
have increased the number of mass shootings across the
country, high-capacity magazines that fire multiple rounds in
quick succession without needing to be reloaded and switches
that convert legal handguns into military-style assault
weapons.
And here's how you measure the success of that law on the
heels of its one-year anniversary: Our analysis of data from
the Gun Violence Archive shows 10% fewer mass shootings in
Illinois between 2022 and 2023; gun dealers haven't sold
assault weapons in Illinois in the past 12 months and there
isn't any evidence of violations by dealers.
Gun dealers are complying with the ban, and that's
evidenced by their complaints about the loss of sales,
collectively costing dealers millions of dollars, and saving
an untold number of lives. In fact, when assault weapons or
high-capacity magazines are used in shootings, 155% more
people are shot and 47% more people are killed.
Just this week, after multiple public meetings that took
place in the fall, the rule-making committee for the
Legislature approved permanent rules clarifying how existing
assault weapons owners can register their firearms. This
makes the process more specific and easier to understand,
leaving no room for excuses for not complying with the law.
The reality is that Illinois voters overwhelmingly elected
a governor and representatives who were clear on their
support for the assault weapons ban to stop the needless
bloodshed happening in every corner of our state. They did
what we elected them to do, and Illinois became only the
ninth state to ban assault weapons.
But the gun lobby doesn't want to talk about the immediate
success of the assault weapons ban. Instead, they're using
extremists like Darren Bailey to tell people to break the law
and not comply, in a flurry of bullets no less. This may
rally the conservative base, but there's no doubt that the
assault weapons ban is doing exactly what it's intended to
do: stop the sale of these deadly weapons in Illinois
In fact, the only people who will be harmed by not filing
these affidavits of ownership are the existing owners, whose
assault weapons were grandfathered in. If owners successfully
file an affidavit, then there will be no question as to the
legality of their possessing the firearm. Those who refuse
are subject to misdemeanor charges upon first offense and
felony charges after that. Thousands of responsible gun
owners have already complied.
One year later, we know that the assault weapons ban has
saved countless lives from the devastating so-called
``everyday gun violence'' that has become ingrained
generational trauma for predominantly Black and Brown low-
income communities, and from the threat of mass shootings
that have repeatedly killed and maimed children, teachers and
families just trying to go about their daily lives. That's
why we passed this
[[Page S208]]
groundbreaking piece of legislation: to stop people from
dying.
One year later, the assault weapons ban is fulfilling its
promise.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, it reflects the fact that Illinois decided
to change its law a little over a year ago. We decided to finally come
to grips with the assault weapons scourge that hit Highland Park and
continues to threaten America.
This is an article that was written by the CEO of Gun Violence
Prevention PAC, Kathleen Sances. In it, she makes note of the fact that
the new law in Illinois is being measured as to whether it has been
successful on its 1-year anniversary.
The analysis and data from the Gun Violence Archive shows 10 percent
fewer mass shootings in Illinois between 2022 and 2023. She writes:
Gun dealers haven't sold assault weapons in Illinois in the
past 12 months, and there isn't any evidence of violations by
dealers.
Gun dealers are complying with the ban, and that's evidenced by their
complaints about the loss of sales, collectively costing dealers
millions of dollars, and saving an untold number of lives. In fact,
when assault weapons or high-capacity magazines are used in shootings,
155 percent more people are shot, and 47 percent more people are
killed.
That simple, commonsense effort to put an end to gun violence is
working in Illinois, thank goodness, but we must do more.
We cannot lose hope. Instead, we should focus on what we can do to
address the gun violence crisis. In cities like Chicago, dealing with
the drumbeat of gun violence has turned public health professionals
into battlefield experts. I heard from doctors in Chicago who were sick
of treating gunshot victims on the operating table, 50 percent of whom,
if they survive, would leave the hospital and return as gunshot victims
again.
They wanted to prevent this gruesome injury scenario from happening
in the first place and then repeating. So, in 2018, I brought together
the CEOs of the 10 largest hospitals serving in Chicago to talk about
how we could help. We formed a group known as the Chicago HEAL
Initiative, which has emerged as a national example of how hospitals
can collaborate and reach outside their walls to prevent gun violence.
Most importantly, they aren't just stitching up physical injuries; they
are addressing the emotional scars of their patients.
We must do more for survivors. That means providing resources like
the HEAL Initiative to help those who have experienced trauma and
preventing weapons of war from causing bloodshed in the first place.
It is time for us to build on the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act
and come together to create real change. Congress must pass commonsense
legislation to help keep America's children and communities safe.
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