Underwood Votes to Pass Life-Saving Gun Safety Legislation to End Senseless Gun Violence

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14) voted to pass the Protecting Our Kids Act, a comprehensive package of gun violence prevention bills that offer commonsense solutions to help prevent future mass shootings and gun deaths. The legislation comes in the wake of the over 200 mass shootings that have occurred in 2022, including recent shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde. Gun violence is a public health crisis; guns are now the leading cause of death among children and adolescents. Studies show that gun violence threatens the physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing of not only survivors, but also families and the wider community.

"In 2019, five of our neighbors left their homes to go to work at the Henry Pratt Company and never returned because of an unspeakable act of gun violence — a senseless tragedy for their families and our community. And now, just three years later, I am continuing to hear from my constituents who are heartbroken over the countless mass shootings in this country and fearful that their community could experience the same tragedy that took place in Aurora,"said Underwood. "Whether it's at school, work, a concert, a place of worship, or their own home, everyone deserves to feel safe. I took action to reduce our country's horrific gun violence crisis by voting to pass the Protecting Our Kids Act."

Gun violence in America is responsible for more than 45,000 deaths per year, including 1,745 in Illinois alone. Every day, 30 Americans are murdered with a gun – a number that rises to more than 100 when counting suicides and accidental shootings.

The Protecting Our Kids Act would:

• Raise the purchasing agefor certain semi-automatic weapons from 18 to 21 years old.
• Crack down on gun trafficking and straw purchases to get illegal guns off our streets.
• Ban dangerous, untraceable ghost gunsby requiring parts of guns, including those often sold in gun kits, to have a serial number and be traceable.
• Strengthen safe storage requirements to protect children from accidental shootings.
• Outlaw bump stocks and high-capacity magazinesfor civilian use, as these only make mass shootings more deadly.

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