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Clinton: Americans must face ‘hard truths’ after Charleston shooting

by Ben Kamisar - 06/18/15 4:17 PM ET

Hillary Clinton invoked the words of Martin Luther King Jr. and the victims of past mass shootings, as she called for prayer and action in response to the “horrific massacre” Wednesday night at a black South Carolina church.

“We are with you and we will stand with you as we seek answers and take action,” she told the people of Charleston during the annual conference of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials in Las Vegas on Thursday.

“How many innocent people in our country — from little children to church members to movie theater attendees — how many people do we need to see cut down before we act?” she asked, referencing the victims of the 2012 shootings at the Sandy Hook Elementary School and at a Colorado movie theater.

{mosads}Clinton said America has to face “hard truths about race, violence, guns and division” as it works through the tragedy and stands by the community. She has supported gun control and background check efforts, and has sought policies to help expand voting rights of minority and poor Americans.

Clinton had been in Charleston just hours before the shooting but did not learn about it until she arrived in Nevada for the conference and her next campaign events.

She juxtaposed the conference, which she said made her feel “great about America,” and proud of the students she saw, with the “shock and pain of this crime of hate” that she felt after the shooting.

Clinton also echoed the words King spoke after the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., a seminal moment in the civil rights movement.

King told the families, “You do not walk alone,” a message Clinton gave to the community of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, nicknamed “Mother Emanuel.”

“Today we say to the families of Mother Emanuel and all the people of Charleston, you do not walk alone,” she said.

“You do not walk alone because millions of Americans, regardless of race, creed or religion, are walking with you in grief, solidarity and determination.”

Authorities have arrested a suspect, 21-year old Dylann Storm Roof. He’s accused of walking into the church and spending an hour sitting while congregants held Bible study, before opening fire and killing nine people inside.

Tags Charleston Hillary Clinton