Pelosi Statement on Seven Years Since the Mother Emanuel Church Massacre

Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi released this statement marking seven years since the racist act of violence that killed nine parishioners at the historic Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina on June 17, 2015:

"Today, Americans solemnly mourn the nine beautiful souls cruelly stolen away as they gathered in peaceful prayer at Charleston's Mother Emanuel Church seven years ago. This brutal and racist act of mass murder inflicted immeasurable pain and grief – scars that are still felt by the Mother Emanuel community today.

"As Americans honor the memory of those taken from us, we must continue fighting to end the scourge of violent extremism. With our Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act, House Democrats voted to better equip our nation's fight against white supremacy. Driven by the courageous voices of survivors and advocates, House Democrats are working to bring our nation's gun epidemic to an end once and for all. It is with an urgent sense of responsibility that we have twice passed widely-popular background checks legislation, including Whip Jim Clyburn's bill closing the loophole that enabled the violence at Mother Emanuel. This month, the House further advanced our fight to save lives, passing the Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act and the Protecting Our Kids Act to help keep weapons of war out of dangerous hands. With the Senate's announcement of a bipartisan agreement on gun violence prevention, we look forward to enacting urgently needed legislation to stop the bloodshed.

"In eulogizing Reverend Clementa Pinckney, whom we sadly lost on that tragic day, President Obama warned that our nation would betray everything the Reverend stood for ‘if we allowed ourselves to slip into a comfortable silence again.' As deadly prejudice terrorizes families across the country, Americans must continue to speak out and demand the brighter future that our children deserve. Today, and every day, let us renew our resolve to stamp out hateful violence wherever and whenever it arises."