Posted on 10/01/2015 5:36:17 PM PDT by Kaslin
Around 6:20 p.m., President Obama gave remarks to the press on today’s horrific shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon. He said there are more American families “whose lives have been changed forever,” and another community stunned with grief. He then went on to say that he’s been to Roseburg, where there are “really good people there.” He went on to thank the first responders, and that in the coming days, we’ll learn about the victims and their dreams they had for their respective futures.
A visibly angry and frustrated president declared, “our thoughts and prayers are not enough. It’s not enough.” It does not capture the heartache or the anger we fell over these senseless acts of violence. And it does not prevent this carnage from happening in the future. The president added that we don’t know the motive of the shooter, but it’s fair to say that they have a “sickness in their minds.”
Watch P_resident 0bama address Oregon shooting
Yet, he cited that we’re not the only country with mental illness, but we are the only developed nation in the world where we have a mass shooting every few months.
“We’ve become numb to this,” Obama said.
He railed against what he feels are lax gun laws, saying that it cannot be this easy for someone who wants to inflict harm on other people to obtain firearms. The president also said that while we have become numb to these events, the reactions could also be anticipated. He challenged the logic of pro-Second Amendment groups by asking them if they truly believe that more guns makes us safer, adding that the press releases from these groups are already being distributed as he speaks.
The president did acknowledge that there are scores of responsible gun owners in this country who don’t believe that’s true. Polling shows that Americans, including gun owners; want to change the gun laws. Obama also said that states with the most gun laws have the fewer gun deaths.
He went on to say that we know nations that have had one mass shooting, and ended up crafting laws that have eliminated such horrific events; Obama used the United Kingdom and Australia as examples, calling them “countries like ours.”
Obama acknowledged that some in the media will say he shouldn’t politicize this tragedy, but added that gun control is “is something we should politicize.” He then made a plea to new organizations to compare the deaths of Americans from gun violence to that of terrorism in the coming days.
Congress was also the subject of Obama’s frustration saying that the current session explicitly blocks the collection of data that could lead to information that prevents more gun deaths. He also blamed the general public saying, “This is a political choice that we make. To allow this to happen every few months in America. We collectively are answerable to those families who lose their loved ones because of our inaction.”
Towards the end of the president’s remarks, he said when natural disasters strike, we work to make communities safer; we have seatbelt laws because we know they prevent automobile fatalities; and we fix roads to also prevent road deaths and make transportation easier. He was getting to the common sense element with these actions, but added that the notion that gun violence is somehow different–that out freedom and our Constitution prevents us from enacting laws that enhance gun safety–doesn’t make sense.
Obama admitted that this issue would require a change of politics, and that Americans who think gun violence is an epidemic should be thinking how to change the politics in Washington on this issue.
He made a call to gun owners to think about whether their opinions and views are being properly represented by the organizations who claim to speak for them on the national stage. Obama did not mention the National Rifle Association, but we all knew what he meant by this statement.
Before leaving, he said that he couldn’t do this on his own. He will need a cooperative Congress, governors, and state legislatures who are willing to work with him. He prayed–and hoped–that he wouldn’t have to come out here to express his condolences to the families of the victims of mass shootings–and give the same call to arms for more gun control–again during his presidency. But Obama admitted he couldn’t guarantee that.
Updates to follow with the president’s full remarks soon
Good God, he is saying this and the bodies have barely bled out.
How did we ever elect this POS?
It already has been Constitutionalized. “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” That can only be amended and not politicized.
Obama Politicizes EVERYTHING
The sheriff even refuses to give the reason why the shooter asked the class room what religion the students were which would put him as being a jihadist.
You got that right.
We should give Obastard the Archie Bunker question about guns
Would it make you feel any better if they were pushed out windows?
Dancing in blood never gets old.
Maybe he should stop riling up his followers with anti-Christian rhetoric.
“60 plus people were shot in Chicago this last weekend alone. Did our Asshat president say anything about that on Monday morning ?”
Nope. Black lives do not matter. That is an average weekend of shooting in Chicago.
It still surprises & appalls me how corrupt they've become.
They should try out stricter gun control laws in Syria. It could work...
Bill O’Reilly mentioned at the end of the factor that the shooter was 26 year old and his name was Chris (I forgot the middle name and the last name, but by the names he was not a Muslim. I assume that he might have been a Atheist who hated Christians
I’m gonna tick off some people here, but what the Hell.
For the first time in my life, I had to clean spittle off my monitor because I spat at the image of this man.
I just came off reading about the Muslims in Lewiston Maine DEMANDING the Mayor’s Resignation for asking them to assimilate and then hit this article.
In Oregon, people who admitted they were Christians shot dead, with the shooter not yet identified by the PC media - and this skinny-azzed Muslim complains about gun violence.
Christ, I am SO fed up with this that right now it’s all I can do not to put my fist through the wall.
And all you Trump bashers that carp about him still cannot get it through your heads that this guy is the only one who is even addressing the issue of illegals and importing Muslims. That is why he is getting traction and will continue to do so, despite his sketchy background. People are damned well FED UP.
What the Hell is it going to take to get our country back?
exactly why abortion should be politicized. Babies torn apart and their bodies sold for profit so some tax payer org can buy lamberghinis..
How many guns are in the hands of private citizens? 1 billion? How many rounds of ammunition? 1 trillion? And this asshat thinks he can just snap his fingers and it will all go away.
Obama wants “common sense” gun laws and referenced the UK and Australia that both ban gun ownership......
Never mistake that the end game for Obama is to get rid of 2nd Amendment rights.
The Revolutionary War began when British troops tried to seize the arms held in Concord and Lexington...
The Founders, all Revolutionary War rebels, made sure that the RKBA was protected in the Bill of Rights. It’s purpose, beyond simple self defense, was as a deterrent to any future wannabe tyrants...... no wonder our lawless -Resident doesn’t like guns, gun owners, or Civil Rights Organizations like the NRA.
Any Government actions to further restrict the 2nd Amendment should result in 21 century Lexington/Concord consequences.
State of Maine....guns are everywhere. Constitutional Carry to take effect this month.
Crime rate.....one of the lowest in the country.
Obama is wrong.
What a tirade.
It sounds like Obama has a burr up his behind because of the way Putin humiliated him this week.
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