Photo: Barack Obama. Credit: Christopher Dilts/Obama for America.
“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 keep happening?’ And they pleaded that we do more to stop the carnage.”
—President Barack Obama, speaking in Orlando after meeting with families of the victims of Sunday’s mass shooting, CNN reports. He called their grief “beyond description,” saying that the community had been “shaken by an evil and hateful act.”
“Today, we are reminded of what is good,” Obama said, standing in front of a memorial to the victims. “That there is compassion and empathy and decency and most of all, there is love.”
But the president also reminded reporters of lax gun legislation that had allowed Omar Mateen to buy an assault rifle and handgun, despite being investigated twice by the FBI.
“Our politics have conspired to make it as easy as possible for a terrorist or even just a disturbed individual to buy extraordinarily powerful weapons, and they can do so legally,” Obama said.
He told reporters that it would take “more than just our military” to prevent such atrocities happening again, saying “we’re going to have to take different kinds of steps to prevent something like this from happening.
“We can’t wipe away hatred and evil from every heart in the world,” he continued. “But we can stop some tragedies. We can save some lives.”
The president also called the attack “an act of terrorism but also an act of hate – this was an attack on the LGBT community,” NPR reports.
“Hatred toward people because of sexual orientation, regardless of where it comes from, is a betrayal of what’s best in us,” he added.
In a clear jab at LGBTQ Pride Month, U.S. Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.) introduced a resolution last week to declare June as "Family Month" — a move right-wing outlet The Daily Wire hailed as an effort to "reclaim the first month of summer from LGBTQ ideology."
The American family is under relentless attack from a radical leftist agenda that seeks to erase truth, redefine marriage, and confuse our children," Miller told The Daily Wire.
"By recognizing June as Family Month, we reject the lie of 'Pride' and instead honor God's timeless and perfect design. If we truly want to restore our nation, we must stand united to protect and uphold the foundation upon which it was built — the family."
Tammy Baldwin, Angie Craig, and Mark Pocan were among the Democrats named by the alleged shooter, a right-wing pastor with a history of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.
At least three out LGBTQ Democrats in Congress have been told their names appeared on a list kept by Vance Boelter -- a right-wing preacher suspected of shooting two Minnesota state lawmakers, killing one.
The LGBTQ lawmakers -- Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and U.S. Reps. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) and Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) -- were among several dozen Democrats at all levels of government whose names appeared on Boelter’s alleged "hit list."
Boelter is accused of killing Minnesota Democratic State Rep. Melissa Hortman (Brooklyn Park) and her husband at their home on June 14, and of shooting Democratic State Sen. John Hoffman (Champlin) and his wife at their home. Hoffman and his wife are expected to recover.
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