In a random survey done in Morton East,  28 out of 91 student respondents reported being stalked or abused by someone they know.

Yet, 91 out of 91 respondents did not know about the Karina bill or had heard about it, their lack of awareness about the bill, it’s crucial for people to know about it for safety reasons. As a young lady myself, I was unaware of the bill, but now that I’ve learned about it, I believe it should be passed to strengthen state law.

The Karina Bill is named after Karina Gonzales, who was killed on July 3rd inside her home near Little Village, alongside her 15-year-old daughter, Daniela. The one charged for their murder is Gonzalez’s husband and Daniela’s father, Jose Alvarez, who shot both because two weeks before the murder, Gonzales went to the police to report the abuse she faced. She was granted an order of protection, but somehow, he still had access to his handgun. The order of protection was meant to take his Firearm Owners Identification card, but allegedly no steps were taken to secure and remove his guns. The bill named after her would strengthen state law to require police or other law enforcement to remove a firearm from a home to protect victims of domestic violence from guns.

Do other people agree?

“I agree that it should be passed. This is not the first time we’ve heard about tragic cases like this. Most recently in Tinley Park, a man shot and killed his wife and 3 daughters. I think that this bill can prevent these situations,” said civics teacher Ms. Joy Davila.

Situations involving domestic abuse can quickly escalate into murder cases, which is why the bill should be strengthened to prevent this. These tragic stories don’t just end instantly, nor do they always reach the ears of the public. People should be informed about this bill to prevent any more cases as tragic as the Karina Case or the one mentioned by Ms. Davila. Other students from Morton East agree with the bill.

“Yeah, since it ensures the safety of domestic abuse victims from the abuser, who is a potentially fatal threat to the victim’s life and safety,” a student from Morton East said.

In the survey, 90 out of 91 respondents agreed that the bill should be passed to strengthen state law. The one person who did not agree with the bill did not elaborate on their reasoning. But most people still felt that the bill was justified.

“I agree because I think we should protect any victim from any sort of abuse,” said student Verónica Cueva.