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Robin Kelly Wins Primary in Illinois 2; Vows to Continue Fight for Gun Control


“We won’t stop fighting until gun violence is no longer a nightly feature on the evening news.”

MATTESON–(ENEWSPF)–February 26, 2013.Tonight, Robin Kelly won a hotly contested multi-candidate primary in Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District. Kelly, whose campaign was defined around the cause of gun control, handily won today’s primary garnering over 50 percent of the vote.

In her victory speech, Kelly declared that the voters “sent a message that tells the NRA that their days of holding our country hostage are coming to an end. And their days of scaring Congress into submission on gun control are coming to a close.”

In her remarks, Kelly thanked families and gun control advocates throughout the district and around the country who stood up to the NRA and rallied around her campaign for gun control.

Full Transcript of Kelly’s prepared remarks is below.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Today—-Today, you did more than cast a vote.

You did more than choose a Democratic candidate for Congress.

You did more than I ever could have imagined.

You sent a message that was heard around our state and across the nation—

A message that tells the NRA that their days of holding our country hostage are coming to an end.

And their days of scaring Congress into submission on gun control are coming to a close.

You came together…

You gave us your time.

You knocked doors.

You made calls.

You shared with us your heart wrenching stories of love and loss, of broken dreams and unfulfilled potential.

You cried with us.

You fought for us.

And you told the NRA and their allies in Congress and around the country that

WE

We the mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, grandchildren, friends and neighbors…

the families of the fallen,

the neighbors living in fear.

We are united in our mission to end the killing in our streets.

We will keep standing with our President.

We will keep raising our voices.

We will fight to ban assault weapons. To close the gun show loophole.  And to ban high capacity magazine clips.

We will do whatever it takes to end this epidemic of gun violence, ONCE AND FOR ALL.

I want to thank my opponents AND my former opponents–each and every one of them–for their

work to improve the lives of people in Chicago and the Southland.

We had our share of disagreements, but we are united in our love for our communities and our passion for public service.

To my husband and my children, thank you for your constant inspiration and unconditional love. I could go on trying to tell you how much you mean to me but you know that would take a lifetime.

To my staff and my entire team, thank you for every second you spent on our fight.

You not only won a campaign, you championed a cause and you furthered a movement.

And I sure hope you are as proud of yourselves tonight as I am of you.

To every leader in the fight for gun control ready to work with  President Obama and Mayor Emanuel to stop this senseless violence, thank you for your leadership and thank you for your courage.

To my dear friends and hopefully my soon-to-be colleagues in Congress, thank you for standing by me and for standing up for the people you serve. Thank you Congressmen Davis, Rush and Quigley.

Thank you Congresswoman Schakowsky.

I’ve also got to give a very, very special shout out to the Daily Kos family and the entire netroots community.

You embraced this campaign.  You adopted this campaign.

You fueled us with people power and you stood up and fought the NRA with us.

You are the reason we made it as far as we did.

You–thousands of you coming together towards a common goal— you are the reason that I know in my core that we are going to end the senseless killing that is robbing us of a generation.

I’ll never forget what you did in this campaign and, know this: I’ll  be your champion in Congress like you’ve been mine during this campaign.

Thank you to my campaign chairwoman Cheryl Whitaker for your support, advice, wisdom and friendship.

Thank you to my dear friends and advisors, Mike Jordan, Kayce Ataiyero, Audra Wilson, Tim Bradford and Josh Schwartz for standing by me through thick and thin. And to Jon Blair for managing this campaign to victory.

Last but certainly not least, Hanah Jubeh. You are an incredible friend. Your heart, drive and determination powered this campaign from the beginning when we were underestimated straight through to this moment.  Thank you for everything.

To every friend, neighbor and volunteer who gave your all to this fight, THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

Now, let me be clear about something,

As I have said before, this fight isn’t just about one election.

It’s about an outcome.

And we won’t stop fighting until gun violence is no longer a nightly feature on the evening news.

We won’t stop until our streets are safer and our families are more secure.

We won’t stop until jobs come to our communities.

We won’t stop until we create a real path to citizenship for the millions of immigrants working hard—and striving for the American dream.

We won’t stop until critical improvements finally come to our schools.

We won’t stop until opportunity returns to each and every neighborhood across this district so we can be even more proud to call this district our home.

Before I go, I ask each and every one of you to continue this fight…

…not just through the general election but beyond.

This campaign is living proof that good people can come together to defy the odds.

We may be underestimated but we’ll never be outdone.

Because in moments like this, when our hearts and our determination exceed even our own imaginations, we know that there’s nothing we can’t accomplish together.

Thank you and God bless you all.

 


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