Charleston Massacre Anniversary

Floor Speech

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Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the victims and survivors of the Emanuel AME Church massacre in Charleston, South Carolina, last year. This was a heinous crime and the response of the families and community has been even more deeply impactful.

As a longtime AME congregant, a former resident of Charleston and longtime Representative of the Holy City in the U.S. House, I have a deep and abiding connection to that community. The victims of that horrific crime were my friends, neighbors and constituents. Their deaths pained me in profound and personal ways and the wounds to our community will take time to heal.

Mr. Speaker, on the night of June 17, 2015, my friend Reverend Clementa Pinckney left his service in the state senate to travel to Charleston to conduct his other kind of service, that of tending his flock at Mother Emanuel AME Church's regular Wednesday night Bible study. Rev. Pinckney was a tremendous leader in our community. Several weeks prior to that night, I had been with Rev. Pinckney at a service in North Charleston after the police shooting of an unarmed black man, Walter Scott. Rev. Pinckney's ministry at that event made a tremendous difference in defusing a very tense time and helped restore calm and allow the local authorities to exert justice on a most unjust situation.

Into that Bible study entered an uninvited outsider. Though he was a stranger, he was embraced by the worshippers who welcomed him into their weekly exploration of their faith. Yet that hate-filled young man shunned their neighborly embrace and conducted an act of violence so heinous the horror has been immeasurable.

Our nation has long had a common sense policy of background checks for prospective gun buyers. Unfortunately, that law has a glitch in it that allows a gun purchase after three business days, even if the background check is not complete, and tragically this shooter was able to purchase the gun due to an error in the paperwork. I have introduced legislation to close this Charleston Loophole in federal law once and for all. This common sense fix will ensure that background checks are completed before gun purchases are allowed.

I have also been pleased to support the request of the Medical University of South Carolina for federal funds to support the community, and last week the Department of Justice released a grant of more than $3.5 million to support that work. I am pleased that the Department has awarded this grant to help MUSC and their partners, the City of Charleston and other local governments deal with the continuing needs in the community as we approach the first anniversary of this horrible chapter in our lives. I want to thank Attorney General Loretta Lynch, for expediting this award, and all of my colleagues in the South Carolina congressional delegation for joining me in supporting MUSC's request.

I have been extremely proud of the resilience and compassion shown by the people of Charleston and South Carolina following the horrific attack at Mother Emanuel on June 17 last year. The survivors of the attack and the families of the victims have been an inspiration to their communities, our state and the whole nation. While the Charleston community has rallied together, as we approach the first anniversary of the Emanuel AME church massacre, we must stay vigilant and continue providing the proper support for the survivors and victims.

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