Statement on Highland Park Mass Shooting

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

The League of Women Voters of Illinois with the League of Women Voters of Highland Park/Highwood issued the following statement on the mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois:

On Monday we watched in horror as a picture-perfect Fourth of July parade in Highland Park turned into a nightmare when a man on a rooftop fired shots into the crowd, killing six people and injuring more than two dozen others.

We are devastated for everyone affected, mourning the people lost and grieving for the lives forever changed by this horrific experience. 

The right of people to gather in freedom is one of the self-evident truths upon which our country was founded. And yet the carnage and terror that descended on Highland Park Monday has become our country’s truth. The shooting in Highland Park occurred on a weekend when seven more people died and nearly 50 were injured as a result of gun violence in the Chicagoland area alone. 

This is not acceptable. In the land of the free, every community must be free from the reality of gun violence. 

We must turn our heartbreak and anger into effective action. After nearly thirty years of inaction, the Senate finally passed one piece of bipartisan gun legislation ten days ago. This is not enough. We call on all of our elected officials to do much more to prevent the ongoing national nightmare of gun violence. 

Preventing gun violence is not partisan. Voters need to be prepared for the November election. Learn every candidate’s position on gun violence prevention and vote your values. 

The value of freedom is essential to our democracy. We all have the right to be free of gun violence.