U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth urges swift action on gun control

CHICAGO - U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth on Friday lamented the tens of thousands of Americans murdered by gunfire, especially children.

She spoke at a community center in the South Side Gresham neighborhood, hard hit by shootings and killings.

"As a mother, I am beyond angry! I am furious, heartbroken and fed up," Duckworth said.

Duckworth said she hopes a bi-partisan group of his colleagues on Capitol Hill can reach agreement on at least a few proposals to stem the bloodshed. But if little emerges from those negotiations, she urged Democrats to move aggressively on new gun control measures.

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"And I think we need to suspend the filibuster in order to have this vote on some real sensible gun control legislation," Duckworth said.

Duckworth favors a federal law making 21 years old the new minimum age to buy a firearm, expanding background checks on gun buyers, and establishes specific red flags that would lead to the suspension of an individual's right to possess a firearm.

She noted guns are now the number cause of death for children in America.

"Because we're talking about the kind of reforms that widespread majorities of Americans support. Let's do what adults are supposed to do. Let's protect our kids, the most vulnerable, the most important, the most innocent," Duckworth said.

It is still not clear what is happening in those negotiations on Capitol Hill. Republicans and Democrats talking for the first time in many years about doing something regarding the proliferation of dangerous firearms.