Rep. Kelly on the Charlie Kirk resolution

CHICAGO - U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (IL-02) released the following statement after voting no on the Charlie Kirk resolution:

"The resolution did not condemn political violence, did not offer solutions to gun violence, and did not include any unifying language to lower temperatures of our country's political climate. So, let me be clear: I condemn political violence, I have urged my colleagues many times to pass gun safety reform, and I believe our democracy needs healing.

"I disagreed with almost everything Charlie Kirk said - but he did not deserve to be murdered for what he said. His children will now have to grow up without a father, and that is very sad. No family should experience that heartbreak, which is why I ran for Congress in the first place. Gun violence, in its many forms, is too prevalent in our country - from the 110 Americans who die every day to Speaker Melanie Hortman's murder to the school shooting in Colorado that happened the same morning as Charlie Kirk's murder. Our country desperately needs universal background checks, an assault weapons ban, red flag laws, community violence intervention funding, and a Congress that will take action to end gun violence.

"As gun violence continues to ravage communities on President Trump's watch, I have not seen a single effort from this administration to end gun violence - only efforts to roll back any gun safety progress and threats to send the National Guard. Instead, the Trump administration has shifted its attention to avenge Charlie Kirk, even bullying ABC to take Jimmy Kimmel off the air in an appalling move of censorship. President Trump has gone as far to say, 'I hate my opponents,' during a moment when we need a leader to unify the country. It is exactly this hateful, escalatory rhetoric that leads to political violence.

"Right now, our government is on the brink of a shutdown. Congress needs to come together to solve our healthcare crisis, lower the cost of living, end gun violence, and deliver for all American people - not just the ones who sit on your side of the aisle."