Ahead of South Carolina Debate, Brady Looks to Hear How Candidates Will Take on Gun Violence

Washington, D.C., February 25, 2020 - Tonight, one block from Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church where nine parishioners were murdered by a gunman in 2015, candidates vying for the Democratic nomination for President must address how they would address and act to prevent gun violence as President.

Brady President Kris Brown explained:

“Eight-hundred ninety-five people died from gun violence in South Carolina in 2018. When candidates are debating how they would steer our country within sight of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, they must substantively address how they would prevent gun violence both with and without Congress.

There is a high likelihood that any President, current or future, will need to take executive action to stop the approximately 100 deaths a day due to gun violence. The candidates debating tonight are doing so in the shadow of one of the most heinous hate crimes in recent memory. They must share their plans to take immediate executive action to curb gun violence. This includes how they will improve federal background checks, work to hold gun manufacturers accountable for dangerous practices, reform the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and combat the rising threat of ghost guns and untraceable weapons.

We need more than bullet points on a website. We need that clarity and specificity on what they would do in their first 100 days.”

About the 2015 Shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church:

The debate tonight will take place in Charleston, South Carolina, the site of the 2015 mass shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. That shooting, where the gunman was able to purchase his weapons due to a loophole in federal background check laws, left nine parishioners dead and another three injured, all African American. The attack was later named a federal hate crime, targeting Charleston’s African American community.

Facts About Gun Violence in the United States:

Using data from the Centers for Disease Control from the most recent years available (2013-2017), Brady established five-year averages to represent annual gun fatalities in the most accurate way possible.

Every day, 310 people are shot in the United States. Among those:

• 100 people are shot and killed
• 210 survive gun injuries
• 95 are injured in an attack
• 61 die from suicide
  

Every day, 21 children and teens (1-17) are shot in the United States. Among those:

• 4 die from gun violence
• 2 are murdered
• 17 children and teens survive gun injuries
• 8 are injured in an attack
• 2 children and teens either die from suicide or survive a suicide attempt
• 8 children and teens are shot instances of family fire — a shooting involving an improperly stored or misused gun found in the home resulting in injury or death
  

2018 Statistics on Gun Violence in South Carolina:

• 4,296 people died by gun violence in South Carolina from 2014 to 2018
• That's an average of 859 people killed each year.
• These rates have been increasing. In 2014, 767 people were killed and the crude rate was only 15.90. By 2016, 891 people were killed and the crude rate was up to 17.97. In 2018 there were 895 deaths and the crude rate was 17.6.
• 2,497 people died by suicide by gun from 2014 to 2018, approximately 58% of all gun violence deaths in South Carolina, in that timeframe.
• 1,696 gun deaths in South Carolina from 2014 to 2018 were homicide or legal intervention. 34 percent of those deaths happened to people 25 or under.