Robin Kelly elected to Congress, renewing calls for common sense 'gun control', Last night, Robin Kelly secured a great victory in 2nd Illinois Congressional district, garnering With most precincts in the district reporting, Kelly won the special election with 70.5 percent of the vote, beating out several contenders. Kelly's campaign was defined around the cause of gun control and the campaign received national attention because of the issue. Kelly thanked the families and gun control advocates throughout the district and around the country who stood with her, and vowed to continue the fight for common sense gun control.
Robin Kelly was surrounded on stage by many "gun control" advocates including Nathaniel and Cleopatra Pendleton, the parents of 15-year-old honor student Hadiya Pendleton. Hadiya was murdered by gun violence in the streets of Chicago and her parents have honored her memory by becoming strong "gun control" advocates.
Robin Kelly said of them that "I am honored to be joined on stage tonight by Hadiya's parents, Nathaniel and Cleopatra, thank you for standing with me as I will stand with you in our fight to end gun violence. I am awed and inspired by the strength of families like the Pendletons and, unfortunately, far too many others, who are working to turn tragedy into triumph."
"Together, we grieved but we never gave up. We never lost hope and we never stopped fighting. And we never will," Kelly promised.
Robin Kelly was also joined by another prominent anti-gun advocate, Camiella Williams, who was a tireless campaign volunteer and who is a relentless advocate for reform in "gun control" laws.
Robin Kelly will be leaving this morning for Washington, D.C., and on Thursday will be sworn-in at the House of Representatives chambers. Kelly address the House after her swearing-in and as all House members will be in attendance, she will to greet her new House colleagues.
Robin Kelly told the packed crowd at the Holiday Inn in Matteson and said "I asked you to stand by me in a fight that was bigger than any one person. I told you then--and throughout this campaign--that our fight wasn't about me--it was about you."
She added that it is "about your dreams, your hopes. your families." Kelly recalled that "when we began this campaign-- there were a whole lot of people who counted us out, naysayers who said we couldn't win."
But Kelly stood strong and decisive on the issue of common sense "gun control" and once again stood up to the National Rifle Association saying that "We not only won an election we took on the NRA. We gave a voice to the voiceless and we put our communities on a brand new path to a brighter day."
Kelly warned it will not be easy and that "the road ahead will be bumpy. Making our families safe from gun violence is going to be a challenge."
Another centerpiece of he campaign was jobs, economic development and an advocate for small business said "Putting people back to work is a tough task."
While she acknowledge it will be a tough and bumpy road, she also warned "to those who say that we won't be able to make Congress do anything on gun control, who think this Tea Party Congress can't be beaten--- I've got two words: Watch us."
Adding, "Watch us beat the odds again. Watch us take on the NRA, the Tea Party and anyone else standing in the way of our safety. Watch us mobilize families and turn grief into action--just like the families of victims of gun violence have done in powering this campaign each and every day. Watch us tell the Tea Party Republicans that we aren't going to let them gut vital promises to seniors like Medicare and Social Security."
She mentioned the work ahead, including immigration reform. "Watch us work with President Obama to continue to put people back to work, to fix our broken immigration system and to keep us on the path to recovery."
Kelly, known as a hard-worker said she will "work hard, day in and day out, to be your voice and your champion."
Kelly will get to work quickly setting up her Washington, D.C. office on Capitol Hill and will be setting up district offices in the city of Chicago and the south suburbs. Kelly said she will emphasize constituent services and that will include a small part of the district located in Will County and Kankakee.
Send John Presta an email and your story ideas or suggestions to johnpresta@att.net.
John is the author of an award-winning book, the 2010 Winner of the USA National Best Book award for African-American studies, published by The Elevator Group Mr. and Mrs. Grassroots: How Barack Obama, Two Bookstore Owners, and 300 Volunteers did it. Also available an eBook on Amazon. John is also a member of the Society of Midland Authors and is a book reviewer of political books for the New York Journal of Books. John has volunteered for many political campaigns.
source examiner
Robin Kelly was surrounded on stage by many "gun control" advocates including Nathaniel and Cleopatra Pendleton, the parents of 15-year-old honor student Hadiya Pendleton. Hadiya was murdered by gun violence in the streets of Chicago and her parents have honored her memory by becoming strong "gun control" advocates.
Robin Kelly said of them that "I am honored to be joined on stage tonight by Hadiya's parents, Nathaniel and Cleopatra, thank you for standing with me as I will stand with you in our fight to end gun violence. I am awed and inspired by the strength of families like the Pendletons and, unfortunately, far too many others, who are working to turn tragedy into triumph."
"Together, we grieved but we never gave up. We never lost hope and we never stopped fighting. And we never will," Kelly promised.
Robin Kelly was also joined by another prominent anti-gun advocate, Camiella Williams, who was a tireless campaign volunteer and who is a relentless advocate for reform in "gun control" laws.
Robin Kelly will be leaving this morning for Washington, D.C., and on Thursday will be sworn-in at the House of Representatives chambers. Kelly address the House after her swearing-in and as all House members will be in attendance, she will to greet her new House colleagues.
Robin Kelly told the packed crowd at the Holiday Inn in Matteson and said "I asked you to stand by me in a fight that was bigger than any one person. I told you then--and throughout this campaign--that our fight wasn't about me--it was about you."
She added that it is "about your dreams, your hopes. your families." Kelly recalled that "when we began this campaign-- there were a whole lot of people who counted us out, naysayers who said we couldn't win."
But Kelly stood strong and decisive on the issue of common sense "gun control" and once again stood up to the National Rifle Association saying that "We not only won an election we took on the NRA. We gave a voice to the voiceless and we put our communities on a brand new path to a brighter day."
Kelly warned it will not be easy and that "the road ahead will be bumpy. Making our families safe from gun violence is going to be a challenge."
Another centerpiece of he campaign was jobs, economic development and an advocate for small business said "Putting people back to work is a tough task."
While she acknowledge it will be a tough and bumpy road, she also warned "to those who say that we won't be able to make Congress do anything on gun control, who think this Tea Party Congress can't be beaten--- I've got two words: Watch us."
Adding, "Watch us beat the odds again. Watch us take on the NRA, the Tea Party and anyone else standing in the way of our safety. Watch us mobilize families and turn grief into action--just like the families of victims of gun violence have done in powering this campaign each and every day. Watch us tell the Tea Party Republicans that we aren't going to let them gut vital promises to seniors like Medicare and Social Security."
She mentioned the work ahead, including immigration reform. "Watch us work with President Obama to continue to put people back to work, to fix our broken immigration system and to keep us on the path to recovery."
Kelly, known as a hard-worker said she will "work hard, day in and day out, to be your voice and your champion."
Kelly will get to work quickly setting up her Washington, D.C. office on Capitol Hill and will be setting up district offices in the city of Chicago and the south suburbs. Kelly said she will emphasize constituent services and that will include a small part of the district located in Will County and Kankakee.
Send John Presta an email and your story ideas or suggestions to johnpresta@att.net.
John is the author of an award-winning book, the 2010 Winner of the USA National Best Book award for African-American studies, published by The Elevator Group Mr. and Mrs. Grassroots: How Barack Obama, Two Bookstore Owners, and 300 Volunteers did it. Also available an eBook on Amazon. John is also a member of the Society of Midland Authors and is a book reviewer of political books for the New York Journal of Books. John has volunteered for many political campaigns.
source examiner
