Tearful Obama calls for action after shooting
WASHINGTON (AP) — A tearful President Barack Obama said Friday he grieved first as a father about the massacre at a Connecticut elementary school, declaring, "Our hearts are broken today." He called for "meaningful action" to prevent such shootings but did not say what it should be.
"The majority of those who died were children — beautiful, little kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years old," Obama said.
At that point he had to pause for several seconds to keep his composure, and he wiped his eyes.
The scene in the White House briefing room was one of the most emotional moments of Obama's presidency. Near him, two senior aides cried and held hands as they listened to the president.
Twenty-seven people, including 20 children, were killed when a gunman opened fire inside the school. The shooter blasted his way through the building as young students cowered helplessly. The dead included the shooter.
The story jolted parents and other people across the nation, and the White House was no different.
Obama began his comments with no greeting. He ended them with words of Scripture, walking away in silence.
He recited the future milestones lost, and had to pause again to gather his words.
"They had their entire lives ahead of them — birthdays, graduations, weddings, kids of their own," the president said of those who were killed.
He ordered that U.S. flags be flown at half-staff on public grounds through Tuesday. The White House also canceled a trip Obama was planning to take Wednesday to Portland, Maine.
As the president received briefings about the shooting, his spokesman, Jay Carney, responded to questions about gun control and Obama's campaign promises on the matter by saying "I don't think today is that day" for such a discussion.
Others, however, said it was.
"If now is not the time to have a serious discussion about gun control and the epidemic of gun violence plaguing our society, I don't know when is," Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y. said in a statement.
The president himself signaled a desire for action, but he was not specific.
"As a country, we have been through this too many times. Whether it is an elementary school in Newtown, or a shopping mall in Oregon, or a temple in Wisconsin, or a movie theater in Aurora, or a street corner in Chicago, these neighborhoods are our neighborhoods and these children are our children," Obama said. "We're going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics."
During Obama's time in office, mass shootings have shaken communities in Wisconsin, Texas and Colorado.
The latest attack comes less than two weeks before Christmas. It appeared to be the nation's second-deadliest school shooting, exceeded only by the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007.
Obama spoke from the "James S. Brady Press Briefing Room," named in 2000 in honor of the former White House press secretary, James Brady, who was shot and disabled in the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan in 1981. Brady and his wife, Sarah, have become activists for gun control.
The president and his wife, Michelle, have two daughters.
"Michelle and I will do what I know every parent in America will do, which is hug our children a little tighter," he said. "But there are families in Connecticut who cannot do that tonight, and they need all us of right now."
The president pledged support to Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.
Said Obama: "He will have every single resource that he needs to investigate this heinous crime."
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More political theater from our Divider-In-Chief.
Fake tears from a fake leader!
Once again, he opens his mouth and pure idiocy comes out. NO AMOUNT OF GUN CONTROL LAWS are going to change the behavior of narcissistic, over-indulged, "me-first", cosseted loony-tunes who decide the best way to make their mark in the world is to kill a bunch of people! When will the gun-contollers wise up? As long as parents continue to raise their children without discipline or any sense of responsibility for their own actions, these things are going to continue to happen.
Anti gun people answer me this. If someone broke into your home with a firearm and was going to do you and your family harm, wouldnt you want to defend you and your family with the same amount of force " the use of a firearm" or just watch them destroy everything you love?
Obama is another Reagan? He sure does like to act alot! I don't believe his "boo hoo" tears for one second.
Just alittle amount of peper will cause tears.
 @cpt.iceman Or a cue on the teleprompter and a finger jab to the eye.
Nice!!!
OBAMA is the president of the USA. He is our president. I wasnt even born in America but gained my citizenship and have supported all presidents since. ffs back your leaderÂ
 @davey2oit Great! You can have him. What the hell dictatorship were you subject to if this blathering incompetent looks like a hero to you? What you should do is study some of the history of THIS country and see why we have a Constitution.
take the guns and leaves us with machetes, bombs, bows and rows, Cross bows ( can be just as lethal) people making there own guns and or weapons, bombs, and the like, people will have weapons one way or the other.. and trust me, if some one wants to do something like this, no matter what, they will find a way. taking people rights away is not the answer.
OH and forget your idea of a cross bow, take a look at this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAyCVTV8-lM
My Airsoft guns are alot better then that. They are also Fully Auto. I also have a BB gun that shoots almost the same as a .22 Mag. I have an Airsoft gun that can shoot over 500psi and shoots over 1200 rounds a minute. I have Blasted a water mellon into juice at over 65ft away. Want to see something then goto Airsoft Megastore and check out those guns. They also make an Airsoft gun that can shoot a Plastic BB over 1/2 mile away.Â
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5nVSfv0Rlg
Little doubt that this will embolden Obama to further tighten controls on guns, and to do this tightening under the table/radar. My personal belief is that the biggest factor is not the guns themselves but the glorification of violence that every child sees every day on television. Kids are being conditioned to view violence as a normal, every day thing. How can we expect people to act differently when we drill violence into them continuously? No doubt the Second Amendment will come under fire (no pun intended). Should not the First Amendment, as a guise for beaming violence at us every day, also be targeted?
He had already stated that when he found out he was re-elected.
 @Nobody The establishment wants to have their cake and eat it too.Â
fake crying,,no tears..bad acting. Â
The problem is not guns. We've had guns since the start of this nation. Quite frankly, I fear a nation where citizens are NOT armed (unless they are our enemy).
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The problem is that we are engineering a society where children (now adults) cannot handle disappointment. "Self-esteem" over discipline. Entitlement over hard work.Â
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Kids (and many parents)Â - Here's a news flash:
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Real life keeps score. Second place is first loser. Third place LOST to the first loser.
There are no trophies for ninth place.
When you can't or don't perform, you WILL fail
Sometimes you're gonna fail anyway - life isn't fair. Get over it and try again.
You are the master of your own destiny.
There are bullies in real life.
There will always be teachers, bosses, peers, family, etc, that irk you - deal with it.
"Reality TV" is not real.
Social networking is not a substitute for social skills and interaction.
You ARE judged by your appearance.
Life is NOT a big video game.
Mommy and Daddy (or any combination thereof) can't "fix" any of the above.
Government can't fix ANYTHING.
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 @Conspirator Agree. I was involved in Cub Scouts for awhile. Any kid that participated got a trophy, just as if they had won. What does this teach? Not much. Studies have shown that many criminals have high self esteem while many successful, law abiding people do not. So, what is the requirement that we all have high self esteem, whether we earned it or not? Our priorities and values are so screwed up.
@Conspirator I totally agree, as when you can report someone with a mental illness, they (govt or state) will do nothing unless the person has actually acted out and commited a crime, but if you say something snarky like i'm going to rob a bank on your facebook page, you'd be arrested in 5 minutes!
The problem (Or how I see it) is notn the easy access to guns, but more of how mental health issues aren't addressed until the individual does something which cannot be undone and all that's left is to console the victims (Or bury) and then make plans on how to prevent such a thing.
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1. Banning of guns. Not going to happen, get used to it. Cry, whine and moan all you want, it won't happen.
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2. Identify individuals who pose a danger. Again, not possible as that would pretty much have everyone under suspicion.
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3. Arm everyone. Bad idea, some people will draw and fire at the slighest indication something is happening....
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So where does that leave us?? Same place we were before this occured. So the idea now is "What do I do if this should happen where I am?" Be prepared, have a plan and follow it....
@disgustedman While no one can say for certain why some individuals have chosen to try to kill as many innocent people as they can, I believe one of the root causes is the deteriorating morals, ethics, and respect in our society. From young children to grown adults there has been marked increase in a lack of self-respect, respect for fellow human beings, and respect for society and authority. This change reduces the value people place on themselves, each other, and life itself. When the lack of respect existing in our society is coupled with the trend toward selfishness, self-absorbed and self-centeredness, it creates a recipe for potential unbridled acts against innocent people.
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If we do not return to a country built on the values of honesty, integrity, respect, and discipline, we will continue to devolve into an ever more lawless society where these atrocities will not only coninue but become more frequent.
 @I812  @disgustedman Well said 1812, but I'm afraid we've gone too far to turn it around. Ever since people got on the Dr. Spock bandwagon there has been a ban on teaching kids respect for other people.... now those kids are adults, and teaching their kids that the only person that matters is themselves.
 We have gone over the edge, and the only thing we can do is protect ourselves from the suicide of society.
You are going to need to act better than that to get an Oscar Mr. President.....
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What a big phony.......the "tear" was about as real as Hillary's aghast reaction to the OBL raid (you remember, the photo with her hand over her mouth) only to find out it was staged and they weren't actually watching the OBL raid!Â
 @B Smizzle I think this is the only time I've ever agreed with you B.
@Razor1 @B Smizzle I second that, he was only reading something a speach writer wrote, and was Not talking from his own heart! While Bush, Clinton (most recent presidents) would speak, at least they did it without something written, and it was easier to relate.
 @flyroy  @Razor1  @B Crocodile Tears? No! He was genuinely upset... I could tell... he wiped at his face! I saw it... he really came across like a person that cares!
He cares to take advantage of another crisis that is.
lets all rehash the rehashed and watch as it happens next time knowing gull dern well there aint nuttin that can be done to stop it.
Breaking News: I just saved a lot of money on my child support by switching to condoms.
Now, Obama will bring an executive order to make guns illegal and that, plus the engineered collapse of the dollar, will send this country into civil war. Enjoy.
@73challenger503 You kooks and your civil war fantasies.
 @73challenger503 I don't support a ban on firearms, but what is the NRA's solution to these mass killings?
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I'm not trying to put down the NRA.  They do a lot of great things for America.  Yet, when it comes to constructive talks and legislation on how to prevent crazies from committing mass killing they don't want to talk about it.
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Banning firearms or magazine size doesn't work.  There was an article on the AP today that a person at a Chinese school stabbed 22 students.  So what can we do?Â
 @MFMFIM  @73challenger503 I wonder how you came to your questions here - not attacking you, genuinely curious - when you call the NRA into question over their (collective) inability to forward a meaningful answer to this kind of problem, then make NO such answer yourself? Â
Consider this: Â if there is no answer to this particular problem, then what?
 @73challenger503 Get a life.
 @Max Quinn  @73challenger503Â
Come on Max. At least if you're going to post make in intelligent comment.
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Geeez. That is so 4th grade.
i always love morons like you wasting THEIR lives, telling other people whom youve deemed to not have a life to get one...but whats that say about you?
@Pixsure Syence; or you?
Yea, Fast & Furious. You guys need to find a strawman real fast because the fool notion that the easy availability of firearms plays no role in acts like this has lost all credibility.
@Max Quinn Going after guns is an attempt at treating the symptom and not the problem. If regulation is a successful approach why have we not had success in the 50-year-old war on drugs? If regulation is a successful approach why do we still kill between 30,000 and 50,000 people per year on our highways? If regulation is a successful approach why do we have the highest per capita incarceration rates in the world?Â
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We need to focus on the problem, not continue to try to treat the symptom.
 @I812 Absolutely! The war on drugs is a total sham because the government brings in most of the drugs. The Mexican Federales got to a site of a crashed CIA plane before the CIA could cover it up and found tons of uncut cocaine.  On and on it goes. I mean, the US gives fully automatic weapons to the cartels which are used to kill civilians (and anybody else that get in the way) and I don't hear many people in the US crying about that, but legally purchased guns are used to kill children and now people are calling for banning private ownership of guns? Are you kidding me?  Any time the government is involved whether it be business, healthcare, guns, schools etc it always goes to crap. Look at the corrupt banks and the government claims they're controlling or have some oversight of.. yeah working well. Heck, the government can't even deliver the mail without creating a giant sink hole of money and debt.
 @Max Quinn Why don't you go spend a month in Mexico City and come back and tell me how safe you feel knowing none of the citizens can own a gun to defend themselves against the cartels, police, Federales and every other criminal.
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Taking guns away has historically (and in every instance) sky-rocketed crime. The Swiss are one of the most armed societies and they don't seem to have the problems the anti-gun countries have. Gee, wonder why that is? Maybe that is too much thinking for you.
Lets all just conveniently forget about Fast & Furious and all the guns that where practically given to the cartels, and of course the thousands of innocent people slaughtered by those guns. Funny how no one seems to get upset about that.
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This administration has restricted for the first time the military reselling its spend brass. For those that don't think the president is doing anything about gun control pay attention because he's probably revelling in the fact that now he's a large number of people screaming about gun control and will be happy to oblige. The ATF continues to deny permits for new gun shops. Gun control is happing in slow motion.
WOW. Some want to point to gun laws as the problem. Wouldn't want to look at the violence constantly seen on prime time tv. wouldn't want to look at the violent video games we allow our kids to play. Wouldn't want to consider how we as a Nation are turning away from God and moral values. We laugh at the misfortune of others.  We are creating this Society issue by what we support.  Â
@LM Maria There is violence and murder in Shakespeare's work and other literature including the bible. Should we ban those also or just the things that don't intrest you and you do not partake in.
@LM Maria Who's god? The man made one? The same god that allowed millions of native Americans to be slaughtered or human beings kept as slaves?
One way to possibly help stop this type of atrocity  is to somehow get the news media back to reporting the news instead of making every story a National Enquirer type of sensationalism story.  They almost dare someone to outdo the previous act of violence.  But, when you have amateurs on the job,  this is what you can expect. Â
 @boomer Piers Morgan is having a complete meltdown on CNN right now. It's embarrassing to watch.
ACTION IS NEEDED TO STOP THIS INSANITY!
Let America place the mentally ill back into institutions and remove them from society.
Let America keep the dangerous felons in the prisons or destroy them instead of turning them out into the society to repeat their crimes. Hold individuals responsible for their actions.
Let us take responsible action against the people that commit these atrocious acts.
Let us not make more laws taking legal rights away from legal citizens that would never do these terrible things. We don't need more laws! We need to enforce the laws that we have. Not one of these crazy nuts ever cared about the laws. More laws hasn't fixed and will not fix the problem.
If safety is the true concern, we must go after the law breakers! Not the legal, law abiding, citizens!
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 @Freedom1267 Make mental health care widely available.Increase funding for the mentally ill.Put dangerous felons on a desert island.How can you take action against these cowards when they commit suicide?Contact your congressman about the mentally ill.We turned them loose on the streets because of lack of funding. Did you know if they were put on the proper medications they would be productive citizens?Mental illness is a very broad spectrum term. Be careful for what you what you wish for and never get diagnosed with depression. Just sayin.Â
 @PDXBEAR Medication is wonderful as a fix for many mental problems. The problem with medication outside of an institution is that you have no way to be sure the patient is taking it. If medication is stopped society is in danger again. Dangerous mental problems are best controlled in an institution! Treating mental illness is the best way to stop the madness in society!
 @PDXBEAR Group homes are fine for those that don't pose any dangerous threats. Unfortunately to many sex offenders and others that do pose a danger to the public are sent to group homes placing them closer to potential victims.
Our politicians made the move to push them all out of the institutions to free tax dollars for them to squander on their own projects. What a disservice those politicians did to the public! You notice that none of those politicians have stepped up to say that they were sorry for any of these acts.
 @Freedom1267 That is why there is group homes with supervision They exist for the mentally ill, Ive worked in a few.  I agree about the dangerous ones. They do need locked up if they are a potential threat to the public. I worked in mental health for 18 years and there are some that just cant be helped, 85% can be though. Oregon is 15 year behind with the laws regarding the mentally ill. With the proper system, there is hope for these people.