Sixth Congressional Candidates Sound Off On Gun Control

There are eight democrats seeking their party's nomination in the 6th U.S. Congressional District and all have one thing in common: they are in favor of tougher measures to prevent gun violence. They shared their thoughts at a recent forum in Glen Ellyn, which happened weeks after the Stoneman Douglas High shooting and drew 400 people.

Those seeking the seat all said they wanted to see a decrease in the influence of the National Rifle Association on politicians and were hoping to repeal a 1996 addition to a spending bill that prevents the government from allocating money to support scientific research about gun violence, the Daily Herald reports. They also all would like to see bans on assault weapons, devices that would help weapons fire faster and high-capacity magazines and in favor of universal background checks.

Whoever wins Tuesday's primary will be looking to unseat Republican incumbent Rep. Peter Roskam. Roskam (R-Wheaton) has held his seat since 2007. The seat is one national Democrats think they can flip this fall since it has been trending blue. During the 2016 presidential election, voters picked Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump.

• Illinois 6th Congressional District Candidates At A Glance
  

Candidates for the race include Kelly Mazeski, Amanda Howland, Sean Casten, Jennifer Zordani, Becky Anderson Wilkins, Ryan Huffman and Carole Cheney. Wilkins is a member of the Naperville City Council and co-owner of the popular Anderson's Bookshops; Howland of Lake Zurich is a trustee on the college of Lake County Board who lost to Roskam in 2016; Mazeski is a plan commissioner for Barrington Hills; Casten is a scientist, advocate and clean energy entrepreneur who has devoted his career to fighting global warming; Zordani is an attorney from Clarndon Hills; Cheney of Naperville who was a former district chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Bill Foster and Huffman of Palatine is a data analyst.

The full candidate forum can be viewed in the video below:

The 6th Congressional District includes all or parts of Algonquin, Barrington, Carpentersville, Cary, Crystal Lake, Lake in the Hills, Glen Ellyn, Wheaton, Elgin, St. Charles, Downers Grove, Lisle, Lake Zurich, Naperville and Palatine.

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