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Obama Comforts Survivors Of Orlando Massacre
June 17, 2016
President Barack Obama spent Thursday afternoon in Orlando, comforting the family members of victims and survivors of the Pulse nightclub massacre.
“Their grief is beyond description,” Obama said after he and Vice President Joe Biden spent two hours at the Amway Center, meeting privately with people who lost loved ones in Sunday’s attack. “These families could be our families. In fact, they are our family. … And today the vice president and I told them, on behalf of the American people, that our hearts are broken, too.”
Obama arrived in Orlando at 12:45 pm, accompanied on Air Force One by U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Fla. Biden had arrived shortly before on Air Force Two with U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla. They were greeted on the tarmac by Gov. Rick Scott, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs before traveling in a motorcade to the Amway Center.
After meeting with the families, Obama and Biden went to the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, where they placed bouquets of 49 white roses — one for each of the people who died in the attack — at a makeshift memorial there.
After several moments of silence, Obama moved to a podium and spoke to reporters, praising the first responders and medical personnel who responded to the attack. The shooter, St. Lucie County resident Omar Mateen, was killed by police.
Obama quoted one of the doctors as saying, “After the worst of humanity reared its evil head, the best of humanity came roaring back.”
The president called for unity across party lines “to stop killers who want to terrorize us.” He vowed to be “relentless” against terrorist groups like ISIL and al-Qaida.
“We are going to destroy them,” he said. “We are going to disrupt their networks and their financing and the flow of fighters in and out of war theaters. We’re going to disrupt their propaganda that poisons so many minds around the world.”
However, he noted, the last two terrorist attacks in the United States, in Orlando and San Bernardino, were “homegrown.”
“It’s going to take more than just our military, more than just our intelligence teams,” he said. “If you have lone wolf attacks like this, hatched in the minds of disturbed persons, we’re going to have to take different kinds of steps to prevent these kinds of things from happening.”
He noted that the Pulse attack was done by “a single killer with a powerful assault rifle,” saying that while the motives may have been different than in other mass shootings in Newtown, Conn., or Aurora, Colo., “the instruments of death are similar.”
The president said he was pleased that the U.S. Senate had agreed to consider gun control measures. .
“Today, once again, as has been true too many times before, I held and hugged grieving family members and parents, and they asked, ‘Why does this keep happening?’ ” he said. “And they pleaded that we do more to stop the carnage. They don’t care about the politics — and neither do I.”
Those who defend easy access to assault weapons, he said, “should meet these families and explain why that makes sense.”
Comments
9 Responses to “Obama Comforts Survivors Of Orlando Massacre”
They did have an armed security guard – an off duty police officer in uniform – and he did fire at the gunman but was unable to stop him. Bars are gun free for the same reason it’s against the law to drive under the influence – impaired judgement. Unfortunately, handguns are generally no match for an AR15 – I suspect the outcome would have been significantly different had that weapon not been involved.
@ Mick
WELL Said, Sir
I commend President Obama for his actions. He seems to genuinely care about the victims and their families unlike Rick Scott.
Couldn’t have said it better myself, Mick!
This man has a lot of nerve saying all the same garbage he always spews its his policies and administration that have allowed ISIS to grow and grow more evil everyday and Hillary is just as guilty and they continue to bring in unchecked immigrant muslims to continue killing infidels. There goal is to either have you convert to Islam or kill you. Its just a matter of time before the next slaughter of innocent Americans happen and it could be here. Every time this happens the first thing democrats yell is more gun control if every law abiding citizen was armed I honestly believe they would think twice about attacking anyone in America.
re:mick, The issue isn’t about guns perse’, it’s about allowing combat weapons with large clips to be sold as easily as handguns are sold.
The other false argument that has been getting made in relation to this story is people asking, “why could this guy buy a gun when he was on a no fly list” ? Or that he shouldn’t have been allowed to buy a gun because he had been questioned by the FBI.
The reason the comparison is false is because the airlines, as a business, have the right to refuse service to whoever they choose. Buying a gun is a 2nd Amendment Right and anyone has that right unless they have been convicted of a felony.
If we made it to where you couldn’t buy a gun if you were on a “no fly” list or if someone had been “questioned by the FBI”, that pretty much sets precedence for the government to ignore everyone’s Civil Liberties at anytime for any reason.
I don’t know where the middle ground is, but if the NRA Lobbyist don’t find some middle ground with the politicians who want to ban assault weapons, then I guess it might come down to a different “all or nothing” than how the NRA has it now.
Well stated Mick. I was thinking that very thought as well, soon after it had happened. I’m certain, that if I were a Liberal Democrat (who typically advocates strict “gun control” for even law abiding citizens)…well, I’d be re-thinking my position. I’m sure that it crossed the shooters mind, just as it must have for the Sandy Hook shooter, “who’s going to possibly be carrying a gun around here?”. I see a common thought process- sitting ducks.
It absolutely was a gun free zone. Concealed carry is not allowed anyplace that serves alcohol as a primary means of income. I’m sure Pulse wasn’t alcohol free. The only way there could have been a weapon there was if they hired armed security…
If the club where those innocent people were murdered was a gun free zone, then only the rabid criminal element, in this case a spawn of Daesh is free to perpetrate this violent act. If there was one just one individual present in that club that was carrying a firearm with the presence of mind to use it; the outcome might have been very different and the loss of life and casualties may have been minimal. With no way to defend themselves, they were slaughtered. Every American citizen has a right to defend themselves. There are those that want to take away our right to protect ourselves and our loved ones…A government that is big enough to give you what you need is big enough to take everything you have…God Bless all of the victims of this cowardly act, and dear God smite down those wish to do us harm, both foreign and domestic…