Tim Scott: 'What the Enemy Meant for Evil, God Will Bring Good Out of It'

Already-existing gun control laws did not keep accused South Carolina church shooter Dylann Storm Roof from going into a church and killing nine people, Sen. Tim Scott said Sunday, pointing out that it will be difficult to know just what the right solution is to stop such violent acts from happening again.

"When there is so much evil in the heart, it is hard to think of the right legislative solution for that problem," the South Carolina Republican told CBS' "Face the Nation" program.

"Listen, the first thing that you should do in the aftermath of an amazing atrocity is look for solutions to prevent it from happening again. What I do know is that the gun laws that prevented him from bringing a gun into the church did not work."

South Carolina is considered a "shall issue" state, reports The Huffington Post. This means that state law enforcement officials must issue concealed-carry permits to people who pass background checks, undergo fingerprint reviews, and complete a handgun education class.

However, state law forbids concealed-carry permit holders from bringing guns into churches or other religious institutions unless they have express permission from a church official. Back in 2011, a law seeking to allow concealed weapons in churches failed in the state's legislature.

Background checks are not required on private gun sales in South Carolina.

Scott, who was in Charleston to attend services at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church, the site of last week's massacre of nine people, said it is still too early to "jump into the why" about the shootings.

"I want to acknowledge the nine victims that lost their lives. One of whom was a friend of mine, Clementa Pinckney, the pastor," said Scott. "He was just a jewel of a person, a prince of a man, a God-fearing guy that believed in building bridges."

Looking for reasons is difficult because it's "hard to understand when evil is just overtaking the heart," said Scott, describing Roof's mind as being "just demented. This was a case of racism."

"His actions were driven by hatred," said Scott. "That is the clear and dominant reason this happened."

But Roof, who described in a website manifesto that he hoped to start a "race war" with his actions, said that the opposite thing happened, because he brought the community together.

"I think we're going to have a robust conversation going forward about race relations, a robust conversation going forward about bringing people together, and I look forward to participating in that conversation," Scott said. "The entire state now is without any question taking a leap forward what the enemy meant for evil, I believe God will bring good out of it."

Part of that conversation will include what should be done about the Confederate flag that remains flying at the South Carolina Statehouse in Columbia.

"There is no doubt that South Carolina has a rich and provocative history," said Scott. "That flag is a part of the history. For some that flag represents that history. For so many others it represents pain and oppression."

He pointed out that 15 years ago, there was a compromise reached by both sides about the flag, but more debate will come soon and after the victims' funerals.

Calls from people like former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney to bring down the flag are "powerful words from some strong leaders," said Scott, and he hopes to be part of the conversation while that happen.

But, he told "Face the Nation" host John Dickerson, he was "not going to make any breaking news" over the flag because he "made the commitment to wait until after the funeral to start that debate."

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