’16 AT 30 THOUSAND
Gun control inserted itself into the 2016 race in a sad and tragic way last night after nine people were shot and killed at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina. “How many do we have to see cut down before we act?” Clinton asked at the top of her speech in Las Vegas today. President Obama said in his remarks, “It is in our power to do something,” while acknowledging the political realities he experienced first hand when unsuccessfully pushing for gun control in 2013.
Republicans have mostly responded with sympathy for the families and community impacted, with some focusing on the fact that the violence took place in a church where the victims were worshipping. At the Faith and Freedom conference where Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul spoke on Thursday, only Rubio made a quick mention of the 2nd Amendment. Here’s more reaction:
SANDERS: The hateful killing of nine people praying inside a church is a horrific reminder that, while we have made significant progress in advancing civil rights in this country, we are far from eradicating racism.
CRUZ: Today the body of Christ is in mourning. I want to begin by just reflecting on the horrific tragedy of last night at the Emmanuel AME Church. That a sick and deranged person came and prayed with a historically black congregation for an hour and then murdered 9 innocent souls.
BUSH: Our hearts are broken at the senseless loss of life. Our prayers are for the community that has lost its pastor and a brave leader. May the families and the city of Charleston be lifted up by the prayers of our entire nation.
PAUL: There's a sickness in our country. There's something terribly wrong but it isn't going be fixed by your government, it's people straying away, its people not understanding where salvation comes from and I think that if we understand that, we'll understand and have better expectations of what we get from our government.
POPPING ON NBC POLITICS
- In a speech to Latino politicians in Las Vegas, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton addressed Wednesday night's deadly church shooting in South Carolina, calling it a "horrific massacre," NBC’s Hallie Jackson and Mark Murray report.
- Three Republican presidential candidates jockeyed for the support of social conservatives and jabbed at their 2016 rivals on Thursday at a conference of influential evangelical activists.
- Scott Walker formed a “testing the waters” committee ahead of his likely 2016 campaign.
- MSNBC’s Zachary Roth reports on how the 2016 candidates are reacting to the Charleston shooting.
- At his first official stop as a surrogate for his father's presidential campaign, George P. Bush told supporters Wednesday in Nevada, "My dad is the right man at the right time for this country," NBC’s Hallie Jackson reports.
FOR THE RECORD…
“I've had to make statements like this too many times. Communities like this have had to endure tragedies like this too many times.”
President Obama’s remarks on the South Carolina massacre
TOMORROW’S SKED
Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Bobby Jindal, John Kasich and Rick Santorum address the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference in Washington.
Bernie Sanders addresses the NALEO conference.
Hillary Clinton holds fundraiser in California.
’16 AT 30 THOUSAND: Gun control inserted itself into the 2016 race in a sad and tragic way last night after nine people were shot and killed at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina. “How many do we have to see cut down before we act?” Clinton asked at the top of her speech in Las Vegas today. President Obama said in his remarks, “It is in our power to do something,” while acknowledging the political realities he experienced first hand when unsuccessfully pushing for gun control in 2013.
Republicans have mostly responded with sympathy for the families and community impacted, with some focusing on the fact that the violence took place in a church where the victims were worshipping. At the Faith and Freedom conference where Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul spoke on Thursday, only Rubio made a quick mention of the 2nd Amendment. Here’s more reaction:
SANDERS: The hateful killing of nine people praying inside a church is a horrific reminder that, while we have made significant progress in advancing civil rights in this country, we are far from eradicating racism.
CRUZ: Today the body of Christ is in mourning. I want to begin by just reflecting on the horrific tragedy of last night at the Emmanuel AME Church. That a sick and deranged person came and prayed with a historically black congregation for an hour and then murdered 9 innocent souls.
BUSH: Our hearts are broken at the senseless loss of life. Our prayers are for the community that has lost its pastor and a brave leader. May the families and the city of Charleston be lifted up by the prayers of our entire nation.
PAUL: There's a sickness in our country. There's something terribly wrong but it isn't going be fixed by your government, it's people straying away, its people not understanding where salvation comes from and I think that if we understand that, we'll understand and have better expectations of what we get from our government.
