U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) issued the following statement after the Senate overwhelmingly passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, a bipartisan package of commonsense gun safety reforms to help curb our nation’s gun violence epidemic:
“After decades of inaction, I’m proud to have joined both Democrats and Republicans in finally breaking the log jam and passing this bipartisan gun safety package that will enhance background checks, help states implement red flag laws, work to close the boyfriend loophole and, ultimately, save lives. While I’ll always keep pushing for more of the reforms that the majority of Americans are crying out for, this bipartisan package is long overdue progress to help curb our nation’s seemingly endless cycle of gun violence and I’m grateful to my colleagues and all the activists who made this breakthrough possible.
“For Illinois, these reforms would also help us crack down on two major problems that drive gun violence in our state: interstate firearms trafficking and irresponsible federally-licensed firearms dealers that repeatedly violate the rules, putting profits before safety. For Illinoisans and all our fellow Americans, I hope the House takes this up quickly so we can get it to President Biden’s desk as soon as possible.”
Throughout her time in Congress, Duckworth has advocated for legislation that would prohibit illegal firearms trafficking—a provision which was successfully included in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. In the wake of the Uvalde massacre, Duckworth spoke on the Senate floor urging her colleagues to suspend the chamber’s filibuster rule to pass overdue, obvious and commonsense gun safety legislation that the majority of Americans support and that could prevent countless future massacres. Duckworth helped introduce several bills that would help prevent gun violence and save lives, including legislation to expand background checks, ban assault weapons, ban high-capacity magazines, close loopholes that allow domestic abusers to legally obtain weapons, prohibit unlicensed firearm ownership and the transfer of firearms without a valid firearms license and more.
***Courtesy of Senator Duckworth***
