Sen. Durbin meets with Chicago's mayor to discuss gun legislation.
Sen. Durbin meets with Chicago's mayor to discuss gun legislation.
Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin met earlier this week with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who was in Washington to attend a summit on violent crimes.
The summit was sponsored by the U.S. Justice Department.
Also at the meeting were Illinois Congressional Delegation members Sen. Mark Kirk and Reps. Cheri Bustos, Rodney Davis, Luis Gutierrez, Robin Kelly, Dan Lipinski, Mike Quigley and Jan Schakowsky.
Speaking from the U.S. Senate floor, Durbin pledged his commitment to getting legislation passed to keep criminals from getting guns, adding that he would fight against attempts by lobbyists to weaken existing gun control laws.
"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. I’ve seen too many lives cut short, too many families and communities devastated by this violence to give up on this effort. I hope Congress can rise to the challenge.”
A video of Durbin’s speech can be viewed on his YouTube page.
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