The heartbreaking violence that occurred in a Charleston church earlier this week has once again made gun control a topic of discussion in the political arena.

Dylann Roof has confessed to being the assailant in the shootings at Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church, a predominantly African-American church steeped in history. This act of terror has reopened racial wounds that are especially tough to come to grips with for those living in the Deep South. Once again, the world’s most advanced Western nation has fallen victim to mass shooting violence inflicted by a deranged person who had no trouble obtaining a firearm.

It is hard to ignore the political implications of the Charleston shootings. The topic of gun control is the preeminent political football in Washington that bubbles up to the surface after every mass shooting, only to be eventually ignored by politicians under heavy pressure by the gun lobby. President Obama has had to address a grieving nation dealing with the aftermath of a mass killing over a dozen times during his presidency. On Thursday, he made his latest such statement and it was hard to ignore the resignation expressed through his comments over the inaction of political leaders. In his speech, he stated:

I have had to make statements like this too many times…At some point, we as a country have to reckon with the fact that this type of violence does not happen in other advanced countries.

One way or another, the Charleston shootings will influence the primaries in South Carolina next year. This is the second high profile race-related shooting to occur in the state this year, and it will be impossible for candidates to ignore that reality during the Democratic and Republican primaries held early next year.

While attending a previously scheduled event for Latino policymakers in Las Vegas on Thursday, Hillary Clinton took a moment to tell the country that it is high time to “face hard truths about race, violence, guns and division.” At the annual conference of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, Hillary went on to ask:

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?

Gun control advocates in the United States are optimistic that a Hillary Clinton presidency may move the needle on gun control legislation, as previously outlined in this April article from The Hill. The article accurately points out that Hillary has been a staunch advocate of gun-control proposals in the past, and the recent killings in Charleston will only add fuel to the hope that Hillary can help tackle an issue that is long overdue for substantive action.

Of course, Hillary’s Republican opponents who are beholden to the National Rifle Association (NRA) and its members have tried to use Hillary’s political opinions on gun control against her. At the NRA’s national convention in April, Republican hopeful Ted Cruz stated:

“If Hillary Clinton is going to join with Barack Obama and the gun grabbers and come after our guns, then what I say is, come and take it.

At the same conference, Jeb Bush warned the crowd that the “liberal, progressive worldview of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton” will result in tougher gun control legislation. Well, by God I hope it does!

The scare tactics employed by gun rights advocates and the constant bullying of politicians by the NRA are contributing factors to the normalcy of gun violence in the United States. While we remember the lives of the fallen victims in Charleston, let us also hope that political leaders will understand the responsibility they have in reducing gun violence and bridging elusive racial divides. Hillary Clinton has the record to be just that type of leader.

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