US Senator Chris Murphy endorses Robin Kelly for US Senate, succeeding Dick Durbin

U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), one of the nation’s leading voices for gun violence prevention, has announced his endorsement of Rep. Robin Kelly for United States Senate in Illinois.

As colleagues and gun violence prevention champions, Murphy and Kelly have worked closely to take on special interests and the powerful gun lobby in Washington to pass lifesaving legislation and protect Americans from gun violence.

“Robin and I have worked together for years to make communities safer from gun violence — we would not have beaten the gun lobby and passed the first piece of gun safety legislation in over 30 years without her partnership and support. She’s exactly the kind of fighter Illinois needs and I’m proud to endorse her for Senate,” said Murphy.

“Sen. Chris Murphy is more than a colleague; he is an incredible mentor who leads by example,” Kelly said.

Congresswoman Robin Kelly official photo

“From his courageous leadership to end gun violence in our country to his fearless commitment to defending our democratic institutions, Senator Murphy has set the tone for how Democrats should fight back for American families. I’ve seen Chris Murphy’s hard work turn passion and resolve into real progress in Washington. I’m honored to have his unwavering support and look forward to continuing our work together in the Senate.”

Kelly and Murphy are two of the strongest voices in Congress fighting to strengthen our nation’s gun laws. Kelly and Murphy have worked on numerous gun violence prevention initiatives and passed several key pieces of legislation. Together, they took on the NRA to deliver the first major gun safety legislation passed by Congress in nearly 30 years with the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act that became federal law in 2022.

In addition, Kelly serves as the Vice Chair of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, and has led on many initiatives:

Kelly fought to include important gun trafficking and community violence intervention provisions in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
Following the Pulse nightclub shooting, she helped plan and led the 2016 House Gun Violence Sit-in with the late Congressman John Lewis that shut down the House floor for 26 hours to protest House Republicans’ inaction on America’s gun violence epidemic.
Kelly recently introduced and passed the Prevent Gun Trafficking Act in the House and introduced the Wear Orange resolution every year in honor of Hadiya Pendleton, who was shot and killed in a Chicago park. The resolution also designates June as National Gun Violence Awareness Month, which keeps the issue of gun violence at the forefront of Congressional action.
Kelly fought to recognize gun violence as a public health emergency, which would direct the US Department of Health and Human Services to submit an annual report to Congress about the public health effects of gun violence. In 2024, US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy followed her calls and declared gun violence as a public health emergency.
Since 2021, Kelly has led the annual appropriations letter to fund the Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative, successfully disbursing over $300 million in CVIPI grants starting in FY2022.
Kelly has introduced over 30 bills addressing gun violence in the House since being elected. The very first bill she introduced in Congress was to end the exemption of firearms from the Consumer Product Safety Act, now called the Firearm Safety Act.
Kelly notably authored the “Kelly Report,” the first Congressional document to accurately frame gun violence as a public health crisis — a groundbreaking moment that helped shift the national conversation toward evidence-based, data-driven, comprehensive solutions.
Kelly also champions gun safety solutions like safe storage solutions to address gun incidents that are accidents as opposed to violence.

Murphy’s endorsement adds to growing support and endorsements of Kelly for the U.S. Senate, including: Brady PAC, the nation’s oldest gun violence prevention organization; leaders in the gun violence prevention community; members of Congress, including members of the Congressional Black Caucus; the Congressional Black Caucus PAC; Elect Democratic Women, the only member-led political action committee dedicated to increasing the number of women in Congress; Jotaka Eaddy, founder of Win with Black Women and a nationally renowned business executive, social impact strategist, and investor; and nearly 70 members of the state’s LGBTQIA+ community.

More information on Kelly’s U.S. Senate campaign, her platform and priorities can be found here.

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Ray Hanania is an award-winning opinion columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.

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