U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin told an Elgin gathering Wednesday he was cautiously optimistic some sort of federal gun legislation could happen in the aftermath of last week’s school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
“What happened was heartbreaking and outrageous,” Durbin said of the deaths of 19 students and two teachers at the hands of an 18-year-old man.
Durbin made his comments while in Elgin to announce $250,000 in federal funding for an environmental restoration study of the Fox River.
The longtime senator said he has a long list of things he’d like to see done. Chief among them, a ban on AR-15 rifles, like the one used in the Uvalde massacre, and other similar weapons.
“Such guns are not for sport or hunting. They serve no purpose whatsoever but to do bodily harm” Durbin said. “I’m ready to act, but I don’t control Congress.”
A recent “60 Minutes” report on the extreme damage an AR-15 can do to the human body provides undeniable proof that such guns must be banned, he said.
He also mentioned a national “Stop the Bleed” campaign and its effort to equip schools and other places with triage kits should there be a shooting, wondering out loud how much money it would cost to have such kits for each and every student and teacher across the country.
According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, there are about 20 million AR-style weapons in circulation across the United States. Many of those can be found in people’s homes, Durbin said.
Durbin said there are bipartisan talks going on involving himself and others about measures such as universal background checks and red flag laws that would allow police to obtain court orders to temporarily seize firearms from people seen as a threat to themselves or others.
Durbin joined fellow Sen. Tammy Duckworth and U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Matteson, this year in introducing a Congressional resolution establishing Friday, June 3, as “National Gun Violence Awareness Day” and June as “National Gun Violence Awareness Month.”
Kelly and Durbin have put forth the resolution every year since 2016.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
