Hispanic Federation Praises Advocates, Illinois State Legislature for Passing Assault Weapons Ban

For Immediate Release: January 10, 2023

Contact: media@hispanicfederation.org

On Tuesday, Illinois state lawmakers passed a bill that would ban assault rifles, extended magazines, and rapid-fire devices. In response, Hispanic Federation President and CEO Frankie Miranda and Midwest Regional Director of Policy Roberto Valdez Jr. issued the following joint statement:

“Illinois state lawmakers stayed grounded in common sense, as well as courage and empathy, in their move to ban assault weapons from our communities. For Latinos in particular, gun violence hits close to home: gun deaths in Latino communities have increased at almost twice the rate of gun deaths nationally.

"Loss of life at the hands of gun violence, which has left too many friends and families reeling, is fundamentally preventable. We've been through enough cycles of thoughts and prayers to know that bold legislative action is urgently needed.

"In the absence of Congressional progress, Illinois has joined a few other states in prioritizing the lives of their constituents. Now we call on other legislatures to follow in their footsteps until Congress takes action on common-sense gun reform."