10 Years After the Mass Shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, Everytown, Moms Demand Action, and Students Demand Action Honor Victims and Renew Call for Action

COLUMBIA, S.C.—Everytown for Gun Safety and its grassroots network, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, released the following statements marking 10 years since the racist mass shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, where nine Black parishioners were murdered by a white supremacist during Bible study. 

“Mother Emanuel Church is a sacred place. But ten years ago, that sanctuary was violated by a white supremacist armed through a deadly gap in our laws, the Charleston loophole,” said Angela Ferrell-Zabala, executive director of Moms Demand Action. “This loophole is not just some legal technicality—it’s a failure that cost nine Black lives. As extremism rises and gun violence continues to devastate communities, the need to dismantle the systems that enable and arm hate has never been more urgent.”

“Ten years later, the pain is still there, but so is the call to rise,” said Reverend Sharon Risher, volunteer with Moms Demand Action and member of the Everytown Survivor Network. Rev. Risher’s mother, two cousins, and childhood friend were shot and killed in the mass shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church. “I carry my mother, my two cousins, and my dear friend with me every day. Their lives were stolen by hate armed with a gun, but I honor them by choosing love and by demanding justice. To our lawmakers, I do not want your thoughts and prayers – I want laws that value our lives.”

“What happened in Charleston, my home and my community, changed everything. It shaped who I am and why I speak out,” said Alison Bannister, a volunteer with the Spelman College Students Demand Action group. “I didn’t get to grow up without the fear of gun violence, but the strength of the Lowcountry—the love, the faith, the fight—keeps me going. We’re still here, still pushing for a future where no one has to be afraid to pray.”

Ten years ago, the Charleston loophole enabled a white supremacist to obtain a firearm he should never have had– enabling him to murder nine Black parishioners during Bible study at Mother Emanuel AME Church. Despite the fact that he would have failed a background check, a dangerous gap in federal law let the sale go through after three business days, before the background check was complete. A decade later, despite relentless advocacy from survivors, families, and gun safety advocates, state leaders have failed to close this deadly loophole, choosing inaction over a simple, life-saving fix.

In an average year, over 25,000 hate crimes in the country involve a firearm. A 2021 analysis found that 60% of violent hate crime victimizations were motivated by bias related to race, ethnicity, or national origin. To honor the lives of the victims, survivors, family members, and all community members affected by the hate-motivated shooting at Mother Emanuel Church, lawmakers must do everything in their power to disarm hate, starting with closing the Charleston loophole. 

South Carolina lacks most foundational gun safety laws and, as a result, has the 12th-highest rate of gun deaths in the U.S. In an average year, 1,081 people are killed by guns in the state, a 23% increase from 2014 to 2023. Gun violence costs South Carolina $14.0 billion each year.