Former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords and her anti-gunner organization used the 11th anniversary of the racially motivated mass shooting at a church in South Carolina to promote gun control.
On June 17, 2015, a 21-year-old white supremacist named Dylann Roof entered the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, and opened fire. He killed nine people and injured one during the attack. All of the victims were black.
In a post on X, Giffords detailed the incident, noting that the victims “were shot and killed by a white supremacist who never should have been able to access a gun.”
Eleven years ago today, nine Black worshipers went to Bible study at Mother Emanuel AME Church and never came home. They were shot and killed by a white supremacist who never should have been able to access a gun. One other person was injured and an entire community was… pic.twitter.com/HkkPmwUtLe
— Gabrielle Giffords (@GabbyGiffords) June 17, 2026
The former lawmaker’s organization, Giffords, also posted, saying, “Our houses of worship should be safe spaces for prayer and community, but far too often they are struck with gun violence—especially in Black communities.”
Eleven years ago today, nine Black worshipers were shot and killed in a racist attack at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. One other person was injured.
— GIFFORDS (@GIFFORDS_org) June 17, 2026
Our houses of worship should be safe spaces for prayer and community, but far too often they are struck… pic.twitter.com/HnUW0ifJH7
What the Giffords folks left out is the fact that their favorite gun control laws failed to stop Roof from carrying out the shooting. He bought the .45 caliber Glock pistol using money his dad gave him for his 21st birthday. The FBI said he’d been arrested the previous month for having drugs without a prescription, which should have blocked the sale.
However, mistakes in the records caused the national background check not to finish in time. Under the rules, this meant the store could sell him the gun anyway. The assailant had no other criminal record that would have prohibited him from purchasing a firearm.
The issue with the background check was that it listed the wrong police department and the details of his drug possession did not come up fast enough.
Then-FBI Director James Comey acknowledged that Roof “should not have been allowed to purchase the gun he allegedly used that evening.”
To put it simply, gun control didn’t work. Moreover, the fact that someone had drugs without a prescription should automatically bar them from gun ownership in the first place.
Yet, if one would suggest to the anti-gunners that perhaps more churches like Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church should have armed security, or at least parishioners who are armed, they would balk at the very suggestion. The notion that people — especially black people — should be empowered to defend themselves is not exactly popular on the left.