U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) delivers a speech on gun violence on the Senate floor last week. | Contributed photo
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) delivers a speech on gun violence on the Senate floor last week. | Contributed photo
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) took to the Senate floor recently to deliver a speech in which he urged fellow lawmakers to work harder to craft gun-reform legislation.
“We can stop the gun lobby from gutting the laws on the books, and we can close the loopholes that allow guns to flow into the hands of criminals,” Durbin said. “As President Obama said, our thoughts and prayers are not enough -- stopping this violence requires courage and political will."
Durbin's speech came the day before he hosted a meeting of the Illinois Congressional Delegation that included Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, who was visiting the capital to participate in a summit on violent crimes hosted by the U.S. Justice Department. Chicago's murder rate is up by about one fifth from this time last year, statistics released by the Chicago Police Department said.
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