ST. CLAIR COUNTY, Ill. – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin toured Touchette Regional Hospital in Centerville Monday. 5 On Your Side got an exclusive interview with the senator inside the Behavioral Health wing of the hospital to talk about gun control and mental health.
The two issues are often mentioned in the same breath, especially after a mass shooting. While Durbin feels the two issues play into one another, he said it's important they're addressed separately.
"We need to talk about it. It's an important part of health," said Durbin.
Less than a week after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Durbin pointed out the importance of dedicating more resources to mental health issues while drawing a line between mental health and violence.
"All mentally ill people are not dangerous or violent by any means," said the Senator.
Durbin toured the hospital during a stop in the Metro East to support the congressional campaign of St. Clair County State's Attorney Brendan Kelly, who Durbin has endorsed.
“Rather than undercutting and gutting Medicare and gutting Medicaid and attacking the expansion of healthcare, we need to move back in the other direction in making these services more available to folks. Because if we don't, in the end, it ultimately affects people's public safety,” said Kelly.
So, how does Durbin propose keeping guns out of the hands of those with mental illness who are violent?
“We've got to get sensible about background checks when it comes to firearms,” said Durbin.
The senator said his resolve to make change was strengthened after a phone call from his daughter.
“She said my first-grade granddaughter told her over the weekend not to stand in front of windows, but to get down on the floor when there's a shooter in your school,” said Durbin. “Is there any sane person in America who believes that is acceptable? That children who are six years old are worried about shooters coming into their classroom? That is not an extension of the second amendment. It is not what our founding fathers had in mind. We can protect second amendment rights and end this madness.”
Five on Your Side reached out to Republican Congressman Mike Bost for reaction to Durbin’s comments.
In an emailed statement he said:
As a grandfather, my heart goes out to the victims' families in Parkland, Florida. This was an act of pure evil conducted by a severely disturbed individual. As has happened all too often in recent years, the shooter fell through the cracks of a system designed to prevent this sort of tragedy. As we gather more information, we must closely review the current background check system, the mental health system, and how best to secure our classrooms. I believe we can reduce the likelihood of another senseless tragedy while preserving the constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans at the same time.
Kelly hopes to win the Democratic primary for Illinois’ 12th Congressional District in March and challenge Bost, the incumbent, who hopes to win the Republican primary.
