| Six years ago, nine people, all of whom were Black, were killed while they were praying at the end of Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. In commemoration of those lost, DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, who is a native South Carolinian, released the following statement:
“Today in 2015, we lost nine lives when a white supremacist attacked Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. I lost a close friend. Others lost their mom, dad, son, daughter, pastor, or community leader. Every day I think about what their lives could have been if this appalling act of violence hadn’t taken place. Hate only leads to loss. I will hug my family a little tighter today and work harder at tearing down the divisions that foster hate.”
“We can honor their memories by coming together to push for action, including legislation to close the Charleston loophole. We cannot allow gun violence to continue to tear our country apart. Most Americans support common sense gun safety laws, but congressional Republicans block these measures at every opportunity because they accept gun violence as a fact of life. Democrats understand we simply cannot wait another day to act — that’s why President Biden has already taken executive action to save lives and to counter white supremacist domestic terrorism, and why we’re right with him in fighting for the change we know is possible.” |