Barack Obama: US will suffer more massacres like Orlando unless gun laws are tightened

Paying tribute: Obama and Vice President Joe Biden place flowers at a memorial in Orlando
AP
Kiran Randhawa17 June 2016

Barack Obama warned the US will “keep seeing more massacres” like the Pulse nightclub shooting unless gun laws are tightened after meeting grieving relatives in Orlando.

The president embraced loved ones of the 49 people murdered in the terror attack on Sunday before he challenged the Republican-controlled Congress to pass gun control legislation.

He said: “I held and hugged grieving family members and parents, and they asked, ‘Why does this keep happening?’.”

He added: “We will not be able to stop every tragedy. We can’t wipe away hatred and evil from every heart in this world, but we can stop some tragedies. We can save some lives. We can reduce the impact of a terrorist attack if we’re smart.

“And if we don’t act, we will keep seeing more massacres like this. Because we will be choosing to allow them to happen.”

His comments came as Republican Senator John McCain said the president was “directly responsible” because he had failed to tackle the Islamic State group.

Orlando shooting victims

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Gunman Omar Mateen claimed allegiance to the militant group as he carried out the massacre.

Senator McCain said: “When he pulled everybody out of Iraq, al-Qaeda went to Syria, became Isis [Islamic State], and Isis is what it is today thanks to Barack Obama’s failures, utter failures, by pulling everybody out of Iraq.”

He later attempted to clarify his comemnts, saying he did not mean the president was personally responsible.

Mr Obama, who arrived in the city with Vice President Joe Biden, laid flowers at a memorial for the victims of the attack on the Pulse nightclub.

The gunman, the president said, had violated a sanctuary for the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community and now people should reflect on how to end violence and discrimination against them, in the US and overseas.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack but US officials have said they do not believe Mateen was assisted from abroad. CIA Director John Brennan told a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing yesterday that the agency had “not been able to uncover any direct link” between Mateen and militants abroad.

It has also emerged that New York-born Mateen, who was shot dead at the club by police, exchanged text messages with his wife during the attack as well as posting on Facebook and placing a phone call to a television station.

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