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As the Illinois Legislature Meets for Lame Duck Session, Moms Demand Action, Students Demand Action, and Everytown for Gun Safety Urge Lawmakers to Pass HB5855, Protect Illinois Communities Act With Urgency

January 4, 2023

Tomorrow, on January 5, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteers will be continuing their tireless advocacy, bussing to the state capitol in Springfield by the dozens to meet with legislators and urge them to pass this legislative package

As the Illinois legislature convenes for their rapid lame duck session today, lawmakers should move with urgency in passing the Protect Illinois Communities Act, HB 5855, a critical gun violence prevention legislative package. Lame duck session is from January 4 to 10 and follows the 2022 year, which consisted of at least 23 mass shootings across the country, including one in Highland Park, Illinois, as well as daily gun violence across the state. Illinois lame duck session. During this session, lawmakers will have the opportunity to pass the package and send it forward to Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker’s desk. 

This omnibus package was introduced during the Illinois veto session in December, 2022. It includes legislation that would prohibit assault weapons and high capacity magazines, facilitate better implementation and efficacy of Illinois’s Firearm Restraining Order (FRPO) law, raise the minimum age to obtain a Firearm Owners Identification card to 21, and address illegal gun trafficking in the state. 

Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteers have been at the forefront of advocating for the House’s Protect Illinois Communities Act, attending and testifying at hearings, meeting with legislators, and engaging in public discourse explaining the need for the package.  

Tomorrow, on January 5, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteers will be continuing their tireless advocacy, bussing to the state capitol in Springfield by the dozens to meet with legislators and urge them to pass this legislative package. Also attending this day of advocacy will be gun violence survivors, policy and medical experts, and gun violence prevention advocates. 

In an average year, 1,505 people die and 2,715 people are wounded by guns in Illinois. Gun violence costs Illinois $18.6 billion each year, of which $625.5 million is paid by taxpayers. Learn more about gun violence in Illinois here

Volunteers with the Illinois chapter of Moms Demand Action will be available tomorrow for interviews. For more information on the events and to speak with a volunteer from Moms Demand Action, please feel free to reach out.

If you're a member of the media, please send inquiries to [email protected]