How can we fight gun violence in South Carolina? That’s a question many religious leaders in the state will be discussing this weekend.

The shooting last year of 9 members of Mother Emanuel downtown started the ball rolling for this weekend’s Stand Up Sunday event.

5 crosses sit at the front of Providence Baptist Church on Daniel Island. They represent the 5 people who were killed by gun violence in the Lowcountry so far in 2016.

Pastor Don Flowers says the Mother Emanuel shooting caused some religious leaders to get more involved in the gun violence issue. “The moral voice, the faith community voice, has been one that has been missing from the conversation. Last summer, after the shootings at Mother Emanuel, it brought it home to us, to all those in the church, we have to be a part of this conversation.”

Gun Sense SC says more than 1300 organizations like churches, synagogues, mosques and temples have been invited to take part in Stand Up Sunday. Each organization is asked to discuss the gun violence issue this weekend with their congregation.

Organizers like Gun Sense SC President Meghan Alexander say they would also like to see lawmakers in Columbia take action. “The Brady bill was passed in 1994. It makes sense that it didn’t include online sales and sales at gun shows. If we close that one loophole, you could make a tremendous difference in the number of people dying.”

A personal experience with gun violence caused Meghan to start Gun Sense SC. “A good friend of mine lost a child at Sandy Hook. And like a lot of people, I was devastated. I started doing some research and I found pretty quickly that there are some things we can do to make a tremendous difference. And I had to jump in.”

The Stand up Sunday discussion can take place anytime at your congregation this weekend. Some 1300 congregations are invited to take part.

You can find more information at www.standupsundaysc.org.