[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.

                          ____________________