Posted on 10/09/2015 11:15:41 AM PDT by TroutStalker
It's little more than an hour until wheels down in Eugene for President Barack Obama. He is meeting with the families of victims of the Umpqua Community College shooting, then flying to Seattle for Democratic National Committee roundtable.
Gov. Kate Brown will accompany Obama on his visits. Neither are expected to speak publicly. Yet, many see Obama's meeting the grieving families as a maneuver to push gun control laws in Congress.
Especially after Obama's impassioned speech, saying mass shootings could be prevented with stricter gun laws.
Already, protestors are in position to greet Obama when his plane lands in Eugene.
Conservative leaders in Douglas County say they expect at least 2,400 to show up among three different protest sites.
Meanwhile, another college shooting was reported Friday morning in Flagstaff, Arizona. At Northern Arizona University, a freshman killed one student and injured three others before surrendering to police.
The incident has fueled social media activity on both sides of the gun control debate.
The Oregonian's political team, Ian Kullgren and Jeff Mapes, are in Roseburg today, so you can follow their Twitter accounts by clicking their names.
We'll also be updated this blog all day with news from the ground. So, check back early and often.
11:11 a.m.
11:07 a.m. Read: Protesters turn out for Obama in Roseburg
It's the first Oregonian/OregonLive dispatch from on the ground today.
The group suggests demonstrators bring water, snacks and firearms if they feel the need to, but only handguns and to keep them holstered.
"Show the world that American gun owners are responsible patriots," a post by the group reads. "Look out for each other."
10:53 a.m. Not everyone is mad at Obama's visit. Oregonian reporter Rebecca Woolington said some people are gathered at the Roseburg Airport in support. She reports:
"I am embarrassed of what's going on up there," said Bryony Allenby, pointing up to the other protesters."
Allenby, who lives in Winchester, said she and family wanted to move away from the protesters who don't want Obama to visit.
Allenby said she went to UCC, is still very connected to the school and lives nearby. She heard gunshots last week.
"It's a very rare privilege to be able to be that close to the president of the United States of America," Allenby said.
Nkenge Harmon Johnson, CEO of the Urban League of Portland, also appreciated his visit.
Steve Mims, the Ducks football writer for the Eugene Register-Guard tweeted: "Politics aside, just can't believe there are people who don't welcome a president to console those who lost so much."
10:48 a.m. Photographer Beth Nakamura is talking to some protestors. Rick Halle, who is with about 10 other people, said he wants to have a peaceful protest that gets across the message that they don't want Obama "pushing political agendas on us."
"We're upset that literally within moments of this tragedy Obama was using it to force a political agenda," Halle said.
TV stations have been showing the crowd slowly grow in size since 9 a.m.
10:12 a.m. While we wait for Obama's plane in Eugene, let's start with some relevant reading.
This morning, Oregonian political reporter Denis Theriault published a story about how researchers and psychologists have made strides in identifying people who might be moved to rampage to stop them before they start.
"You're not going to be able to look at someone and say, 'Two years from now, he's going to be the next school shooter,'" said Mario Scalora, a psychologist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln who consults nationally on how to thwart mass shootings and other targeted violence.
But Scalora and others said listening and speaking up when something isn't right can stop such crimes. A burgeoning field of study called risk assessment is also making a difference.
Mass shootings "are very preventable," Scalora said. "In a lot of cases, there are warning signs."
Read the story: Stopping mass shooters: Experts share lessons since Thurston
That story reflects on an Oregon school shooting in 1998. Read about that one and other in this list of mass shootings in Oregon.
How do authorities determine what constitutes a mass shooting? We have your answer: How many U.S. mass shootings? Why it's so hard to pin down
-- Molly Harbarger
Hes here by me begging people for money, so it is just a political stop.
He is making the trip to Roseberg an official trip so the taxpayers pay for the fund raisers along the way.
Can you put this in the sidebar for Activism and/or Breaking News?
I’ll start putting up pictures from the twitter feeds of the Oregonian reporters. Hopefully some Freepers can also post live updates and pix!
Thanks!
(As we say “this is hugh”)
A plant? Cactus? What kind? - I have a Christmas Cactus and another one above my computer. Are they capable of such a thing? :o)
[But what if they have to rename Mount Denali after him?]]
don’t worry- Donald Trump will becoem president and rename it Mt DONALDi
saw a poster on fox news that a person was holding there that said “Go Golf”
That’s all it said, but what a powerful statement- in other words- get lost- go play- that’s what he’s good at-
OMG!
KGW TV just showed a guy with a rather large revolver....holstered, of course.
-— saw a poster on fox news that a person was holding there that said Go Golf
Thats all it said, but what a powerful statement -—
Perfect!
From Ian Kullgren (Oregonian reporter) Twitter feeed:
Protesters say they’re here to support guns rights, Sheriff Hanlon, Christianity. #UCCShooting
WOW!
God bless these patriots!
How about a sign that says, “A golf course is missing its idiot”?
Two Ospreys have just landed at Roseburg Airport. Obama likely a couple minutes behind.
Nice! Thank you.
Obama visit to Roseburg stirs local anger about his support for gun control after shooting
Local social media sites in the conservative community are replete with criticism of the president, and several local officials said Obama should stay away from the subject of gun laws during his Friday visit.
"I was not pleased with the direction the commander-in-chief took" after the shootings, state Rep. Dallas Heard, R-Roseburg, said Tuesday. "Let's hope he can think to do better when he comes here. We can only hope."
The White House said Obama is traveling to Roseburg to "visit privately with families of victims of the shooting," leaving the impression he would not have any public events for what is expected to be a short visit.
I hope and pray that nothing will happen, that Obama’s term will come to an end next year, and that we have elected a strong constitutionalist president and congress who will start to undo all of the damage this man has done. But after all the above mention of false flags, and such, I can’t help but think of the antichrist who comes back from dead after 3 days, and wonder???
I really don’t think he’s the antichrist. Still....
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