Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton spoke about criminal justice reform and gun control issues alongside the Mothers of the Movement organization and former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords at the Breaking Down Barriers Forum. The event took place at Central Baptist Church of Columbia on Tuesday evening.
Mothers of the Movement is made up of mothers who have lost children to gun violence, especially African Americans killed by police or individuals claiming self-defense. Giffords famously survived an assassination attempt while hosting a meet and greet in her congressional district. Congressman Jim Clyburn was also on hand at the event.
Clinton gave a brief introduction and spoke again at the end of the event, but the majority of the event involved the other speakers discussing their stories and how they came to endorse Clinton.
All five of the mothers emphasized that they came to support Clinton in a crowded presidential field because of the care and concern she has showed for their individual families.
Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin, noted her appreciation that Clinton took the time to speak with families like hers on a personal level. Martin was killed while walking to his Florida home by George Zimmerman, and Zimmerman was found not guilty under the state's "Stand Your Ground" self-defense laws.
"She walked in as the secretary, she walked in as a political figure, she walked in as a presidential candidate," Fulton said, "but she walked out as a compassionate mother."
Geneva Reed-Veal, the mother of Sandra Bland, explained that she felt as if Clinton was concerned with her needs rather than trying to use her for political gain when they were introduced at a meeting of the Congressional Black Caucus. Bland died while in police custody following a controversial arrest. While the death was ruled a suicide, this cause of death has been disputed and the arresting officer has been charged with perjury.
"Make no mistake I'm angry," Reed-Veal said, "but I'm not angry enough to riot — I'm angry enough to vote for this lady."
Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly both argued that Clinton is the best candidate to take on the gun lobby in order to achieve meaningful reforms, an issue that the couple has been at the forefront of since the shooting that caused Gifford's traumatic brain injury.
"Hillary is tough, she is courageous, she will fight to make our families safer," Giffords said. "In the White House she will stand up to the gun lobby. That's why I'm voting for Hillary. Speaking is difficult for me, but come January, I want to say these two words: 'Madame President.'"
In her closing remarks, Clinton praised her and the other speakers for their activism in the wake of personal loss and reiterated her commitment to the issues discussed.
"The courage, the commitment, turning sorrow into strategy, mourning into a movement, is just such a great message for everybody," Clinton said. "Something that I hope you will take with you when you leave here tonight, something that is, yes, important for each of us, but should be important for all of us, each and every one of us, and I am absolutely determined that together we will get justice. We will reform the criminal justice system. We will provide accountability for those in positions of power and responsibility. We will make progress towards common sense gun safety measures to deal with the gun culture and the epidemic of violence, to keep guns out of the hands of those who should not have them in the first place."
Clinton currently holds a 24.1 point lead over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the South Carolina Democratic primary polls. The primary is going to be held Saturday.