Chris Christie On ‘Depraved’ South Carolina Shooting: ‘Laws Can’t Change This’

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie spoke out about the church shooting in South Carolina today during the Faith and Freedom conference in Washington D.C., calling the actions of the shooter “depraved” and “unthinkable.”

As he concluded his speech, Christie asked the crowd to pray for the victims of the shooting and their families.

“There’s nothing more important today, than taking as many moments as you can to pray for the families of those victims, good decent people who care about their church, who love God and their families, who work for their communities who served in public life,” he said.

Christie said that the only thing to combat the kind of evil that was perpetuated in that church was the nation’s prayers and “display of love and good faith.”

“Laws can’t change this, only the good will and love of the American people can let those folks know that that act was unacceptable, disgraceful and that we need to do more to show that we love each other,” he said.

That kind of love and prayer in the wake of tragedy, he explained, was a key part of what leadership was all about.

“I pray for those families today, and I suspect you will to,” he continued. “If we can have the power of our prayers and the power of our conduct be an example to those who have hate in their hearts, then we are doing what we really need to do to make our community and our country a better place.”