Just hours after the horrific and apparently racially motivated killings at a Charleston, S.C., church, a gun control group headed by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords seized on it to champion its cause against guns.
Giffords and husband Mark Kelly, cofounders of Americans for Responsible Solutions, issued a statement decrying “gun violence” involved in the death of nine blacks at Emanuel A.M.E. Church. A white man, Dylann Storm Roof, 21, has been identified by police as the alleged shooter.
Once again, a senseless shooting has brought terror & pain to one of our communities. Praying for Charleston. http://t.co/hKpYXecc98
— Gabrielle Giffords (@GabbyGiffords) June 18, 2015
The National Rifle Association had no comment.
Below is the statement from Giffords and Kelly:
TUCSON, AZ — Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and retired Navy combat veteran and NASA astronaut Capt. Mark Kelly, the Co-Founders of Americans for Responsible Solutions, issued the below statement following the mass shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, which claimed nine lives:
Gabby & I are saddened to see another shooting shatter another community. Prayers are w/the people of Charleston. http://t.co/HVOUS3mFKL
— Mark Kelly (@ShuttleCDRKelly) June 18, 2015
“Once again, a senseless act of gun violence has brought terror, tragedy and pain to one of our communities. And once again, gunfire and bloodshed has visited one of America’s houses of worship. This time, a shooting has shattered the community at Emanuel A.M.E. Church, whose congregants have stood so often on the side of the needy and of peace. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Emanuel A.M.E. Church, and the families of those who were taken in this tragedy.”
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
