On the ten year anniversary of the Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church shooting (June 17), the South Carolina Democratic Party will host an in-person town hall with U.S. Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, founder of national gun violence prevention group GIFFORDS, in Charleston. The conversation, which will begin at 5 p.m., will be focused on federal efforts to close the Charleston Loophole, which allowed a white supremacist to open fire, killing nine people in 2015.
The tragedy in South Carolina exposed a gap in existing law, now known as the Charleston Loophole. Under current law, gun dealers can move forward with a sale if a background check takes longer than three business days. That is exactly how the Charleston shooter got a gun he never should have had.
Senator Kelly and Congresswoman Giffords are hosted and will be joined by State Sen. Deon Tedder and State Sen. Ed Sutton.
The address of the event is available upon RSVP.