Illinois Representative Jeanne Ives issued the following announcement on Aug. 5.
We had three mass shootings this weekend - El Paso, Dayton and Chicago - that inflicted a heartbreaking loss of life on those communities and our nation.
There are multiple evils we must confront as a nation. Some of these evils are readily identifiable like white supremacy as was the case in El Paso. Other pathologies are more difficult to name. What kind of hatred would lead a brother to murder his sister and to murder the mother of a 2-year-old as she shielded her baby from a shooter's gunfire, as happened in Dayton? What do we say to the families in Chicago paralyzed by street gang violence in their neighborhoods?
We need an "all of the above" discussion, mincing no words, about preventing the carnage we have witnessed on our streets, in our shopping malls, at music festivals and even in our places of worship.
Red flag laws, yes.
Coordination between federal and state and local law enforcement to prevent people who shouldn't have guns from obtaining them, yes.
Attacking poisonous, hateful ideologies wherever they breed including online, yes.
Prosecution of criminals who commit crimes with guns to the fullest extent of the law, including leveling individuals up for federal prosecution, yes.
And, as the Wall Street Journal opined this weekend, supporting and promoting cultural and social organizations that create attachments and minimize alienation from civil society: "These are churches, business and social clubs like the Rotary, charitable groups, even bowling leagues, and especially the family. Government programs can never replace these as protectors of troubled young people." Yes.
In the coming days and weeks, I will be discussing these topics and soliciting ideas from social service providers, educators, law enforcement and families in our community, particularly those who have experienced suffering and loss at the hands of the hateful and violent. It is clear we have much work to do.
Alerts Sign-up