As feared, President Obama will be traveling to Roseburg, Oregon, on Friday, in the wake of the Umpqua Community College massacre that left nine people and the shooter dead.
Via The Oregonian:
Obama will “visit privately with families of victims,” according to a White House official, who said further details of his visit would be released in the next few days.
The president has already been scheduled to attend a luncheon fundraiser that day in Seattle for Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., so he’s presumably coming to Roseburg before or after.
It is not known whether Obama will push for more gun control laws while he’s in timber country, but if his comments last Thursday are any indication, it’s a safe bet.
The president offered condolences to the victims of the mass shooting, but added that “our thoughts and prayers are not enough,” and urged voters to demand changes to the nation’s gun laws.
Unfortunately for his anti-gun narrative, the residents of the conservative town of Roseburg are known to be strong supporters of gun rights and their sheriff is an outspoken opponent of gun-control laws.
The publisher of a local newspaper let it be known over the weekend that the president would not be welcome there after he so flagrantly politicized the massacre.
“It shows not only a total disdain and disregard for our Constitution, but for our very citizens — especially those of us here in Douglas County,” said David Jaques to Breitbart News reporter Lee Stranahan. “We believe in the Second Amendment. We believe in the whole Constitution.”
Obama has made a point of visiting the sites of other mass shootings in recent years, including Charleston, S.C., Aurora, Colo., and Newtown, Conn.
However, he’s been utterly silent on the epidemic of mostly black-on-black crime that is seen on a daily basis in his hometown of Chicago.
September was Chi-town’s deadliest month in 13 years, but Obama’s work is done there. Chicago has the most stringent gun laws in the nation.
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