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Hi John,
Six years ago, nine lives were stolen in a horrifying act of racism in Charleston, South Carolina. A white supremacist opened fire at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal hoping to “start a civil war.”
Today, we remember the Charleston Nine: Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney, Cynthia Marie Graham Hurd, Susie Jackson, Ethel Lee Lance, Rev. Depayne Middleton-Doctor, Tywanza Sanders, Rev. Daniel L. Simmons, Rev. Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, and Myra Thompson.
Since their lives were stolen, we have seen far too many other examples of white supremacy made deadly by a gun, from mass shootings in El Paso and Atlanta to the state-sanctioned killings of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many others.
This story does not have to repeat itself. We have the power and the responsibility to keep fighting to dismantle white supremacy and disarm hate. Join us in honoring the Charleston Nine with action. Tell the Senate, the time is now to eliminate the filibuster and act on gun safety.
A deadly loophole in federal law, known as the “Charleston loophole,” allowed the Emanuel AME shooter to get the firearm he used to carry out the massacre without passing a background check. Every year, this loophole allows hundreds of thousands of gun sales to proceed without a proper background check.
The House of Representatives has passed a bill to close the Charleston loophole twice since the shooting. But the Senate has refused to vote on this lifesaving legislation. We cannot allow Senate politics to continue putting American lives in jeopardy. Please, tell your senators, it is time to eliminate the filibuster and close the Charleston loophole.
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