Durbin Statement on Senate Passage of Bipartisan Safer Communities Act

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after the U.S. Senate passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, legislation to help keep America’s children and communities safe from the gun violence epidemic:

“This Senate just accomplished what hasn’t been possible in decades—passing bipartisan legislation that makes our nation safer from gun violence.  To be clear: this bill doesn’t have everything I want, but it is a meaningful bipartisan compromise that will help reduce shootings and expand mental health care. 

“Now that this legislation has passed the Senate, I urge the House to pass it swiftly so it can become the law of the land and help save lives.

“Thoughts and prayers and action.  To all the families across America who mourn the loss of a gun victim, this bill offers more than sympathy—it offers hope.  Let’s make this the beginning, not the end, of this lifesaving bipartisan dialogue.”

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