Currently, Illinois is a gun safety standard-bearer for the rest of the country, with the eighth-strongest gun laws in the country. Lifesaving legislation like a recently enacted extreme risk protection order law has earned Illinois an A- in Giffords Law Center’s Annual Gun Law Scorecard. Despite the state’s progress, however, there are still opportunities to reduce its disproportionately high gun death rate and ensure the safety of residents by strengthening the state’s licensing requirement and increasing funding to community violence intervention programs.

In order to build on the work begun in the Illinois General Assembly, we must both protect current gun safety champions and lift up new ones who are willing to lead on this issue. The candidates in this group are aware of their unique positions as lawmakers in a state that is politically inclined to passing meaningful gun safety legislation; instead of taking for granted the relative strength of their state’s existing laws, they will be proactive in centering the issue and constantly working toward creating a safer Illinois.

For the Illinois Senate:

Antonio Munoz, 1st District
Robert Martwick, 10th District
Robert Peters, 13th District
Cristina Castro, 22nd District

For the Illinois House:

Aaron Ortiz, 1st District
Theresa Mah, 2nd District
Omar Williams, 10th District
Michelle Darbro, 20th District
Justin Slaughter, 27th District
Thaddeus Jones, 29th Distric
Mary E. Flowers, 31st District
Andre Thapedi, 32nd District
Jaime Andrade, 40th District
Janet Yang Rohr, 41st District
Martha Paschke, 65th District
Suzanne Ness, 66th District
Barbara Hernandez, 83rd District

We are proud to endorse these 17 candidates for the Illinois General Assembly in 2020.