Last week the president furiously denounced the killings as a symptom of a political choice by US lawmakers to bow to pressure from the powerful National Rifle Association lobby group instead of reforming gun laws.
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The decision not to have the president deliver a public speech in Roseburg may also have something to do with the politics of the town, a place that, despite the shooting, remains largely opposed to changes in gun laws and generally disapproves of the Obama presidency.
John Palmer from Klamath Falls, was outside the Roseburg Airport Friday protesting Obama’s visit.
“He’s not wanted here”.
More than 8,000 people signed up for an anti-Obama rally on a Facebook page called “Defend Roseburg”, created to convince the President no to visit the town. On Friday, fatal school-related shootings were reported at colleges in Arizona and Texas. On the morning of the shooting, just one unarmed security guard was on patrol. For months prior to the attack, faculty and staff had debated whether to arm campus security officers, but they could not overcome their divisions on the issue.
“Everybody should carry a gun. And most of those kids that go out there are from hunting families”, Tom Fugate told KOIN-TV.
Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Obama has made it clear that he will only spend time with the families.
All gun buyers must provide a medical certificate of mental and physical fitness to own a weapon, and all guns must be registered. Additionally, a few of the guns used in Oregon were purchased legally in a state with restrictive gun control laws, and background checks were performed.
“I want to thank the entire community and the entire state of Oregon for coming together at this bad time to support the families”, Obama said. “When we say, ‘Nobody will ever take my life, I’ll take theirs, ‘ it contradicts the Christian life and message”, he said. He has said the December 2012 shooting at the Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut was his toughest day as president.
Douglas County commissioners released a conciliatory statement Thursday welcoming the president. The president – in 1,299 words – never once discussed religious tolerance or even condemned the shooting. Barely a third of the county voted for him in the last election.
After that, Obama heads to Los Angeles to raise money for the DNC and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee – the Hollywood Reporter reports Obama will attend events at the homes of J.J. Abrams and of designer Michael Smith, whose partner is US ambassador to Spain James Costos – before completing the statewide sweep by heading to San Diego for the night.
Governor Kate Brown will accompany Obama as he visits victims’ families, but neither is expected to speak publicly.
The publisher of the local paper, David Jaques, has also denounced the visit, saying Obama was not “welcome here to grandstand for political purposes”.
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“People are ready for the healing process here and he’s just dragging it out, salting the wounds”, said Lori Altman, 60, who came to Roseburg with her husband, Dan, from nearby Sutherlin.
