Entirely predictable:
"President Barack Obama urged Americans on Saturday to join in solidarity as they mourned the victims, saying the hearts of parents across the country were "heavy with hurt".
He called for "meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this", but stopped short of specifically calling for tighter gun-control laws in his weekly radio and Internet speech." (Reuters)
Meanwhile, at a press conference with the White House spokesperson:
"Q: The President made a campaign promise to work to renew the assault weapons ban. Why won’t you stand up here today and say that that remains a commitment of his?
CARNEY: It does remain a commitment of his. What I said is, today is not the day, I believe as a father, a day to engage in the usual Washington policy debates. I think that that they will come, but today is not that day, especially as we are awaiting more information about the situation in Connecticut."
Responding directly to the White House Press secretary's claim that "today is not the day" to discuss gun control, Jerrold Nader, D-New York said:
" We cannot simply accept this as a routine product of modern American life. 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. How many more Columbines and Newtowns must we live through? I am challenging President Obama, the Congress, and the American public to act on our outrage and, finally, do something about this.”
On its part, "The National Rifle Association, which advocates for gun rights, said in a statement it would not have any comment on the Connecticut shooting "until the facts are thoroughly known." (CNN)
Outdoing everyone else, the ex-governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee weighed in too:
"We don't have a crime problem, a gun problem or even a violence problem. What we have is a sin problem," Huckabee said on Fox News. "And since we've ordered God out of our schools, and communities, the military and public conversations, you know we really shouldn't act so surprised ... when all hell breaks loose."
There are of course many other factors - structural, historical, ideological, social psychological - all seamlessly connected - that contribute to these endlessly recurring massacres. Michael Moore pinpointed many of these factors in his _Bowling for Columbine_ documentary. So while gun control in and of by itself will not be the proverbial magic bullet for preventing any further mass shootings, there is little doubt that it is a good first step that is actually within the realm of immediate action. If the political will is there - a big caveat for sure.
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