Durbin, Duckworth Pass Resolution Honoring Lives of Highland Park Shooting Victims

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today introduced and passed a Senate resolution to honor the victims of the Highland Park, Illinois mass shooting on July 4 that took the lives of Katie Goldstein, Irina and Kevin McCarthy, Stephen Strauss, Jacquelyn Sundheim, Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, and Eduardo Uvaldo and injured dozens more. In their resolution, Durbin and Duckworth also thank the first responders who conducted the response and investigation as well as the health care providers and counselors who are continuing to support gun violence survivors, mentally and physically.

“On July 4, we lost seven people – parents, friends, grandparents, neighbors—in an unspeakable act of violence in Highland Park. This community will never be the same after this loss. Residents will carry this trauma with them for a lifetime,” said Durbin. “Today’s resolution is a recognition of the lives we lost and the bravery of those who responded to this crisis, and I will honor their memory by continuing to push the Senate forward on gun safety reform. We cannot become numb to the horrific gun violence communities across the country are facing daily.”

“The Illinoisans at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade last Monday were there to celebrate life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. They woke up that morning eager to take pride in our nation and celebrate America at its best. Instead, they experienced the worst of it—seeing firsthand what can happen when a sick fealty to the gun lobby is prioritized over American lives,” Duckworth said. “Every gun death is a tragedy that can and should be prevented. For the sake of the seven people we lost, and all gun violence survivors who’ve experienced the unimaginable, I’m honored to push forward this resolution—and I promise to never stop fighting for commonsense gun safety legislation that would save lives and make massacres like these relics of a heartbreaking past.”

Earlier this week, Durbin and Duckworth met with Highland Park residents to hear their firsthand experiences from the shooting and the toll the attack has had on them and their families. During their conversation, both Durbin and Duckworth reiterated their support for an assault weapons ban as cosponsors of the Assault Weapons Ban of 2021.

Durbin and Duckworth both supported the recently-enacted Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which cracks down on straw purchasing, expands background checks for buyers under 21 years of age, takes steps to close the “boyfriend loophole,” supports state red flag laws, and offers billions in funding for counseling, mental health, and trauma support for victims of gun violence. While the bipartisan legislation was a starting point for gun reform, both Senators are calling for additional reform.

Every day, 321 people are shot in the United States according to Brady United. On July 4, Highland Park was just one of ten mass shootings across the country. 

Text of the resolution is available here.

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