(Downers Grove, IL) November 1, 2018 – Sean Casten, Sixth District Candidate for Congress, joined Congressman Jim Himes (CT-04), Chair of the New Democrat Coalition, for a roundtable discussion with local activists, educators and members of the Sixth District on ways to reduce gun violence in America.

“There are so many things we as Americans agree on about gun safety,” said Casten. “From strengthening background checks, to making sure that people who are having suicidal thoughts don’t have access to firearms – these are not extreme positions and we should not let the NRA stand in way of these common sense laws.”

“We need people like Sean Casten in Congress,” said Himes. “Republican leadership in Congress will not allow the kind of reasonable conversation that we had here today to happen in Congress because it will cut off the flow of money from the NRA and groups like it that are funding these guys precisely to stop any meaningful change on gun safety.”

Participants in yesterday’s roundtable included Sean Casten, 6th District Congressional Candidate; Congressman Jim Himes (CT-04), Chair of the New Democrat Coalition; Peg Agnos, Executive Director of the Legislative Education Network of DuPage (LEND); Mary Ann Quinlan, Gun Safety Advocate; Dr. Susan Nedza, Former EMS Director for the State of Illinois; Pastor Brenda Mitchell, Gun Safety Advocate; Sara Frederick Knizhnik, Gun Safety Advocate

Yesterday’s roundtable comes just two days after Peter Roskam fundraised with Senator Marco Rubio, the sixth largest beneficiary of NRA funding in the US Senate.

Peter Roskam’s Record of Standing with the NRA

Here’s a look at Peter Roskam’s record of opposing common sense gun safety measures includes:

• Peter Roskam had 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]

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

• In a recent WTTW debate, Roskam doubled down on his opposition to banning assault weapons.