Speaking after meeting Mr Obama and Mr Biden, Vincent Villafane De Jesus, cousin of Frankie Jimmy De Jesus Velazquez – who, at 50, was the oldest victim of the Pulse nightclub massacre – said that Mr Biden hugged the victim’s mother and said, “You are not alone – we stand by you”.
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“We have to make it harder for people who want to kill Americans to get their hands on weapons of war that let them kill dozens of innocents”, he said on Tuesday.
The massacre of 49 people at the Pulse nightclub last Sunday was the deadliest mass shooting in the history of a country that is depressingly familiar with such events. He cheered on Democrats’ push for new gun control measures, including a new ban on assault weapons and stricter background checks.
Obama has called the Orlando shooting an act of terrorism and an act of hate. A visitation for one victim, Javier Jorge-Reyes, on Wednesday night turned out a crowd of friends, family, drag queens and motorcyclists to pay their respects.
“We are going to destroy them”, he said.
“I just pray for his family and I can’t believe this happened”, she said. “Seeing President Obama here makes it real”.
In the aftermath of the shooting, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has accused Obama of putting US enemies ahead of Americans.
It was a familiar tableau for Obama, who has said the moments spent consoling families in mourning have been some of the most wrenching of his presidency.
The gunman, Omar Mateen, had made calls during the attack saying he was an IS supporter.
Gunman Omar Mateen, 29, a USA citizen born in NY to Afghan immigrants, pledged allegiance during his rampage at the Pulse nightclub to Islamic State and other Islamist militant groups.
The president most recently met grieving families in December in San Bernardino, California, after a married couple inspired by IS killed 14 people. “We will not be able to stop every tragedy”. We can save some lives.
Mateen carried out the slaughter with an assault weapon and handgun that had been legally purchased although he had twice been investigated in the past by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for possible connections with militant Islamist groups.
Obama was later joined by Vice President Joe Biden, and together, they visited the makeshift memorial for the victims in front of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.
The governor has remained in Orlando since the shooting, spending time making the rounds before the national television cameras, privately meeting with victims at Orlando Regional Medical Center and attending several prayer vigils. He told them he was inspired by their courage and felt their pain at the loss of so many young lives.
“Our hearts are broken, too”, he said. “And hatred toward people because of sexual orientation, regardless of where it comes from, is a betrayal of what’s best in us”.
“Obama landed at Orlando International Airport on Thursday and was met by Florida Gov. Rick Scott, Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, who gave the president a black T-shirt adorned with a rainbow heart and the words “#OrlandoUnited”. Corrine Brown and Bill Nelson, who flew with Vice President Joe Biden aboard Air Force Two. You receive the news that you lost someone, and then you receive the note that you need to go and pick up things.
Hours before Obama’s plane touched down in Orlando, Democratic Sen.
Democrat senator Chris Murphy, who represents CT, where a mass shooter killed 20 children and six adults at a school in 2012, held the floor for almost 15 hours until 2.11am (1611 AEST) on Thursday.
Obama praised the Senate for scheduling votes next Monday on gun control measures, although the legislation is likely to fail. The NRA said on Wednesday that it would support a policy allowing the government to delay gun purchases by people on the terror watch list so that their intentions could be investigated.
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Both bills were expected to fail. Sunday’s shooting at Pulse nightclub has spawned renewed debate about terrorism and access to assault weapons.
