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National Gun VIolence prevention organization Brady PAC endorses Robin Kelly for U.S. Senate
Brady PAC Makes Rare Primary Endorsement of Kelly, Citing Her Proven Record of Gun Violence Prevention Work
Brady PAC today announced its endorsement of Robin Kelly for U.S. Senate. Brady PAC, the political arm of the Brady Campaign, the nation’s oldest gun violence prevention organization, made the rare endorsement in a competitive primary race because of Kelly’s exemplary record and proven national leadership fighting for gun violence survivors and passing commonsense gun legislation.
Brady joined with Congresswoman Kelly, advocates and gun violence survivors today at Roseland Christian Ministries on Chicago’s South Side to endorse Kelly’s campaign for Senate.
“We do not take this step lightly,” said Kris Brown, board chair of Brady PAC and president of Brady.
“Congresswoman Kelly’s exceptional leadership and unwavering commitment to gun violence prevention is unmatched. She is one of the only elected officials in the country who has stood up to the gun lobby and won. Her courage, clarity, and relentless conviction have transformed the Congressional response to gun violence and inspired a national movement to make our country safer from gun violence. In a time when dozens of lives are lost daily to gun violence, we need leaders like Robin Kelly in the U.S. Senate, and Brady PAC is proud to endorse her.”
“I’m honored to receive Brady PAC’s endorsement today,” Kelly said. “I’ve championed gun violence prevention issues for over a decade in Congress and led the fight to protect Illinois communities from gun violence. I am the only candidate in this race to have taken on the powerful gun lobby in Washington and won, passing the first major gun safety legislation in 30 years. Illinois families and survivors need a proven fighter in the U.S. Senate to continue to take on the gun lobby, crack down on illegal guns in our communities and save lives. I thank Brady PAC for this incredible honor.”
In Congress, Kelly has led on the issue of gun violence prevention, serving as the Vice Chair of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Gun Violence Prevention Task Force:
- Kelly took on the NRA to deliver historic gun violence prevention legislation that expands background checks to get guns out of the hands of violent abusers.
- Kelly fought to include important gun trafficking and community violence intervention provisions in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act that became federal law in 2022.
- 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 introduces 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.
Delphine Cherry, a Brady Illinois advocate and gun violence survivor who lost both of her children – Tyesa and Tyler – to gun violence, praised Kelly’s leadership and today’s endorsement.
“Robin Kelly has walked with survivors of gun violence in our pain and in our darkest hours. She has prayed with us, fought for us, and stood beside us long after the headlines faded. She doesn’t just talk about ending gun violence, she lives that mission every day. I can think of no one more deserving of our trust, our vote, and our support than Robin Kelly.”
Other Congressional leaders in the gun violence prevention space weighed in on Kelly’s leadership on the issue:
“Robin Kelly has been a leader in America’s fight to end its gun violence crisis throughout her long career in public service,” said Rep. Yvette Clarke (NY-09). “From securing unprecedented legislative victories that are directly responsible for saving lives across this nation, to authoring her groundbreaking Kelly Reports that identify the root causes of this crisis and their solutions, Congresswoman Kelly has proven she not only has courage to challenge the gun lobby, but the competence to beat them. No one is more deserving of Brady PAC’s powerful endorsement than Robin Kelly, because no one is more capable of taking on this momentous task than she is.”
“Congresswoman Kelly is a fighter. She came into Congress after the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary with a vision — and track record — fighting for a safer future,” said Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04) and Chair of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. “Since joining the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, she’s shaken Congress into action, passed much-needed gun safety legislation, and defeated the gun lobby. I’m proud to work with her in the House, and I look forward to partnering with her in the US Senate.”
Today’s endorsement of Robin Kelly for the U.S. Senate adds to growing support and other endorsements from leaders in Illinois’s gun violence prevention community, members of the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus PAC, Elect Democratic Women, and nearly 70 members of the state’s LGBTQIA+ community.
More information on Robin Kelly, her leadership in Congress and candidacy for the U.S. Senate can be found on her website.
About Brady PAC
Brady PAC is dedicated to a singular goal: freeing America from gun violence by supporting and investing in candidates who are committed to enacting, improving, and defending Gun Violence Prevention (GVP) policies across the country. It upholds the policy ideals championed by its sister organization – one of the nation’s oldest GVP grassroots advocacy organizations.
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Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
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