October 29, 2018 Press Releases

CASTEN STATEMENT ON PETER ROSKAM’S FUNDRAISING LUNCH WITH SENATOR MARCO RUBIO

(Downers Grove, IL) October 29, 2018 – Just two days after an anti-Semitic man committed a hate crime with the use of a deadly AR-15 weapon, and one week after Republican Peter Roskam reaffirmed his opposition to a ban on assault weapons, Senator Marco Rubio (FL) will hold a fundraising luncheon for Roskam’s campaign. In response, Illinois Sixth Congressional District candidate Sean Casten released the following statement:

“It’s honestly galling that Peter Roskam is taking the time to fundraise with the NRA’s sixth highest beneficiary in the U.S. Senate, Marco Rubio, but he was unwilling to meet with survivors of the Parkland shooting when they came to the Sixth District last month to hold a town hall.”

“Two days ago, our nation experienced another mass shooting, which was one of our nation’s deadliest hate crimes, and it was committed by a shooter with a deadly assault weapon. Weapons of war have no place on our streets. Period. But for far too long, Peter Roskam, Marco Rubio and our representatives in Congress have failed to act to address the epidemic of gun violence. Instead, they are too been beholden to their donors and the gun lobby. Unlike Peter Roskam, I am not afraid to stand up to the gun lobby. In Congress, I will vote to ensure Americans feel safe from the scourge of gun violence in school, houses of worship, theaters, shopping malls, across the country.”

Peter Roskam’s record of opposing common sense gun safety measures includes:

  • Peter Roskam has an A rating from the NRA, and is the third largest recipient of NRA funds in Illinois, with $32,216 in overall support. [News Gazette 02/20/18; Chicago Tribune 10/5/17]

  • Opposing an assault weapons ban, and claiming that armor-piercing bullets have a “sporting use.” [1994 Assault Weapons Ban, Chicago Daily Herald, 9/4/06; Letter to ATF, 3/5/15]

  • Refused to attend a local gun-safety forum sponsored by the Parkland school-shooting students. [Naperville Sun 4/6/18]]

  • Voted eight times to block consideration of the “No Fly, No Buy” bill to prevent suspects on the FBI Terror Watch List from purchasing firearms. [H. Res. 778, Vote #299, 6/14/16; HR 1927, Vote #25, 1/08/16; H.Res 581, Vote #21, 1/07/16; H Res 580, Vote #4, 1/06/16; H Res 579, Vote #2, 1/06/16; H Res 560, Vote #690, 12/11/15; Motion to Table, Vote #688 12/8/15; H Res 556 Vote #682 12/8/15]

  • Sponsored legislation that would have destroyed gun purchase records after 90 days in Illinois. [Chicago Tribune, Editorial 10/26/05]