Obama: 'Our thoughts and prayers are not enough'
WASHINGTON — A visibly frustrated President Obama offered condolences to the victims of the mass shooting at an Oregon college on Thursday, but he added that "our thoughts and prayers are not enough," and voters should demand changes to the nation's gun laws.
Having now spoken after more than a dozen senseless killings during his administration, Obama again called for "common sense" legislation aimed at preventing gun violence, and he mocked opponents of past initiatives he has pushed.
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"Each time this happens, I'm going to bring this up," Obama said during emotional remarks in the White House press room. "Each time this happens, I am going to say that we can actually do something about it, but we're going to have to change our laws."
Obama noted that he has been to Roseburg, Ore., where the shooting took place, and "there are really good people there" who are the latest victims of gun violence.
"Somehow, this has become routine," Obama said. "The reporting is routine. My response here at this podium ends up being routine ... we've become numb to this."
Throughout his presidency, especially after shootings, Obama has called for legislation to try to stop gun violence, including enhanced background checks, an assault weapons ban, and improved mental health programs. On this occasion, the president said, "it cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm to get his or her hands on a gun."
As he echoed those calls in the wake of the Oregon shooting, Obama predicted that statements of opposition from gun rights groups were already being written. Many of those opponents will accuse him politicizing tragic shootings, the president said.
"Well, this is something we should politicize," Obama said. "It is relevant to our common life together, to the body politic."
He later said: "This is a political choice that we make, to allow this to happen every few months in America."
Oregon officials said a 20-year-old man killed at least 10 people in a shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, about 180 miles south of Portland. Obama visited the city during his 2008 presidential campaign.
Obama has spoken in the wake of shooting tragedies on at least a dozen occasions, including the 2012 murders at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., and this past summer's killings at African-American church in Charleston, S.C.
Other countries have mental health issues, but none have the kind of gun violence the United States does, Obama said.
The president mocked opponents of gun control legislation, including those who say the solution is "more guns" or fewer safety laws.
"Does anybody really believe that?" Obama said.
Given the frequency of mass shootings, Obama said people should demand action at the federal and state levels, and make it an issue at election time. He also said lawful gun owners should question whether gun rights organizations are truly representing their views when it comes to efforts to prevent violence.
“I hope and pray that I don’t have to come out again during my tenure as president to offer my condolences to families in these circumstances," Obama said. "But based on my experience as president, I can't guarantee that — and that's terrible to say. And it can change."
Contributing: Gregory Korte
More coverage of the Oregon shooting:
Up to 13 killed by shooter at Ore. community college
Oregon community college shooting: What we know now
2015 school year off to a violent start
Tributes pour in for #UCCshooting victims
