FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, September 6, 2022
G-PAC Reiterates Call for Assault Weapon Ban Following 29 Mass Shootings in Illinois this Summer
According to the Gun Violence Archive, there were 29 mass shootings in Illinois between Memorial Day and Labor Day of this year, which took 21 lives and injured 139 people. In response, G-PAC released the following statement:
“Illinoisans witnessed 29 mass shootings this summer, and yet state lawmakers have yet to pass stronger gun laws, which 71% of Americans support,” said Kathleen Sances, President and CEO of the Gun Violence Prevention PAC. “While it appears that there isn’t the political will to call a special session before the election, state leaders must pass a ban on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines at their earliest opportunity. Communities in Chicago, Crest Hill, Decatur, Highland Park, Rockford, Wheeling and Yorkville — all home to recent mass shootings — deserve better from their elected leaders.”
Sances sent the following call to action to advocates today to contact their lawmakers to demand immediate action.
By The Numbers: A Deadly Summer in Illinois
Friends,
Each summer, we’ve all come to expect that rising temperatures bring rising levels of gun violence.
Between Memorial Day and Labor Day this year, there were 29 mass shootings in Illinois. The most deadly captured national headlines — where eight were killed and dozens more were injured during a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park. Chicago experienced nearly two dozen mass shootings, and suburban and downstate communities of Crest Hill, Decatur, Rockford, Wheeling and Yorkville all witnessed their own.
While mass shootings get the most attention, they are only a fraction of the problem. In Chicago, the 9 people killed in mass shootings were among 223 who died at the hand of a firearm this summer. The 92 people wounded in mass casualty events were among the 1,107 who were shot and killed citywide during the same period.