TODAY: Nearly 200 South Carolina Lawmakers, Moms Demand Action Volunteers, and Gun Violence Survivors Gathered at the South Carolina State House for Advocacy Day to Demand the Passage of Common Sense Gun Reform During the 2024 Legislative Session

Live footage of the press conference is available HERE.

COLUMBIA, SC. –  Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots network, today held their advocacy day for the 2024 legislation session. 

At today’s press conference, Senator Ronnie Sabb, the first African-American Senator for Senate District 32, Representative Jermaine Johnson, who has has been instrumental in strengthening community-based violence prevention efforts in South Carolina, Tisa Whack, a gun violence survivor, co-founder of We Are Their Voices, and member of Everytown Survivor Network, and Patty Tuttle, Columbia-area lead for the South Carolina Chapter of Moms Demand Action and former veteran called on lawmakers to do more to protect their constituents to prevent future tragedies and reject permitless carry legislation.

“When I talk about guns and gun violence it’s personal to me,” said South Carolina Representative Jermaine Johnson. “My brother was a child, and he was taken from me. It’s time out for this, it’s time out for losing our future generations. Not only do moms demand action. WE demand action.”

“I think anybody listening would embrace the idea of a brother losing a brother, sadly that story is not unique.” South Carolina Senator Ronnie Sabb. “It is far too common in South Carolina and America.”

“Too many families across the country are just like mine – devastated, angry and confused by the gun violence that stole our loved one. On top of that trauma, we’re desperate for action,” said Tisa Whack, member of the Everytown Survivor Network and community outreach lead for Moms Demand Action in Charleston. “Solving this gun violence crisis requires a two-pronged approach, both proactively passing common-sense gun violence legislation and investing in the resources and programs to help break this cycle of violence.

“We demand action for the mass shootings that plague our state and the daily gun violence that doesn’t even make headlines,” said Patty Tuttle, Columbia-area lead for the South Carolina Chapter of Moms Demand Actions and former veteran. “We demand action because gunshots are the number one killer of children and teens in our state and our country, but our House and Senate leaders have not allowed discussion of any of the proposed bills that would help lower these numbers.” 

South Carolina has the 10th highest rate of gun deaths in the US. The state has weak firearm laws, scoring only 18 out of 100 for gun law strength while maintaining the sixth-highest rate of gun homicides in the United States. In an average year, 1,044 people are killed by guns in the state, with a 47% increase from 2012 to 2021, compared to a 39% increase nationwide. Gun violence costs South Carolina around $14.0 billion each year. 

To speak with a South Carolina Moms Demand Action volunteer, please do not hesitate to reach out to [email protected].