Victims of Gun Violence to Hold Gun Traffickers Liable

Floor Speech

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Mr. CASTEN of Illinois. Madam Speaker, 1 year ago Saturday, five people lost their lives and many more were injured when a gunman entered an Aurora, Illinois, warehouse and started shooting.

At the vigil for those victims, I made it clear that, if we want to stop people from getting shot, we have to politicize this and we have to take legislative action.

Now, Illinois has some of the strongest gun laws in the country, but our neighbors don't. In Chicago, 60 percent of the guns recovered from crime scenes were trafficked in from out of State. And, worse, we have never had the courage to regulate guns the same way we regulate cars. If my daughter took my car out and crashed into my neighbor's garage, I would be liable. That is common sense.

That is why, yesterday, I introduced the Gun Trafficker Detention Act. This bill requires gun owners to report if their gun is lost or stolen within 48 hours and imposes criminal penalties if they fail to do so and their gun turns up at a crime scene. It would also allow the victims of gun violence to hold traffickers legally liable for death or injury caused by their guns, regardless of who pulled the trigger.

Are there people who won't like this bill? Yes--gun traffickers. Every other American will be safer, and I encourage my colleagues to join me and support this bill.

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