President Barrack Obama delivered a speech in the White House Thursday evening, following the Roseburg campus shooting at Umpqua Community College (UCC) in Oregon. An emotional Obama faced the media. The familiar sight of the president speaking was his 15 appearance after a shooting incident during his term. He said, “The reporting is routine. My response here at this podium ends up being routine. The conversation and the aftermath of it, we’ve become numb to this.”
The Oregon incident was the 45 mass shooting this year, according to Everytown for Gun Safety. The group used media reports and FBI data. The FBI considers an incident “mass shooting” when there are at least four people killed. The President even told the media to tally the number of dead people from gun deaths against those killed by terrorism, implying that more Americans die in gun violence than terrorism. On Friday, he said that the nation will grieve with the families and wrap them with love and prayers, but he believes that prayers are not enough. He asked the citizens to expect their officials to reflect their views on guns and urged responsible gun owners to assess if their views are well represented by the group that suggested speaking for them, hinting at the National Rifle Association.
President Obama said, “We are the only advanced country on Earth that sees these kinds of mass shootings every few months”. He believes that since nothing has developed on the gun issue, everyone is answerable to the grieving families. He hopes that he would not come out again to condole with families under the same circumstances, but he knows he cannot guarantee that, and that it can change.
The President confessed that one of his frustrations in his presidency is the failure to pass laws that are more stringent on gun safety. “We do not have sufficient common-sense gun safety laws, even in the face of repeated mass killings.” Before ending his 12-minute speech, Obama’s impatience and anger turned to sadness, saying “May God bless the memories of those who were killed today…may He give us the strength to come together and find the courage to change.”
Image credit: The White House (Official Whitehouse YouTube account)
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