Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Senate Judiciary, Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committees' Bipartisan Joint Oversight Hearing On Trump Assassination Attempt

Hearing

“We’ve all seen the movies [and] we’ve read the books. The international assassin with sophisticated technology [and] elaborate plans, sets out to kill a leading political figure in the United States. But how does that match the reality of what happened in Butler, Pennsylvania? When a 20-year-old introverted college student outsmarted one of the most sophisticated American law enforcement agencies in history? Came within an inch of killing a former President of the United States? That's why we gather today to ask these hard questions. There's more to this story and other aspects we ought to consider as well.

We cannot lose sight of the factors that contributed to the violence on July 13: widespread, easy access to AR-15 military-style rifles. While we rely on the Secret Service to protect elected officials, we must acknowledge the unique challenges they face in light of the proliferation of weapons of war on our streets.

Pennsylvania, like many states, allows individuals to openly carry a loaded rifle without a permit. To make matters worse, assault rifles can easily be purchased from unlicensed dealers without a background check because of dangerous loopholes in our gun laws. This same kind of firearm has been used to carry out mass shootings in Newtown, Uvalde, Las Vegas, and Highland Park, Illinois, killing dozens of children and adults and injuring many more.

Looking across this dais, I recognize that we have our differences on many issues—but when it comes to the protection of the President and presidential candidates, we should stand united. We know that protecting our elected officials is essential to a functional democracy.”

I hope this hearing can be an example of how we will work together on a bipartisan basis to not only understand this shocking event but to ensure it never happens again. We must do this without the incendiary language and conspiracy mongering that too often dominates our political discourse today.

Ongoing investigations by the Secret Service and the FBI are critical, but Congress, the victims’ families, and the American people deserve transparency and accountability now.”

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