Barack Obama shares heartfelt response to mass shootings, calls for stricter gun laws

Barack Obama has finally released a statement on the deadly mass shootings that took place over the weekend in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.

The former president shared a heartfelt four-paragraph message on Twitter Monday afternoon, explaining that he and Michelle "grieve with all the families in El Paso and Dayton who endured these latest mass shootings."

"Even if details are still emerging," Obama wrote, "there are a few things we already know to be true."

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Obama went on to state that "no other nation on Earth comes close to experiencing the frequency of mass shootings that we see in the United States." 

He argued that as a developed nation, America needs to stop accepting the excuse that "gun laws won't stop all murders." Even if stricter gun laws can prevent some deaths or some families from grieving, he says, they're worth it. 

"The evidence shows that they can stop some killings. They can save some families from heartbreak. We are not helpless here. And until all of us stand up and insist on holding public officials accountable for changing our gun laws, these tragedies will keep happening," he said.

Obama then touched on the motivations behind the shootings, and said that while they "may not be fully known, there are indications that the El Paso shooting follows a dangerous trend: troubled individuals who embrace racist ideologies and see themselves obligated to act violently to preserve white supremacy."

The former president called out "white nationalist websites" for radicalizing these ideologies, and called on law enforcement agencies and internet platforms to work harder to minimize the influence of hate groups. 

Earlier today Donald Trump made a public statement about the shootings, and before he misidentified the Ohio city in which the second shooting took place, he also touched on the influence the internet has on these deadly shootings.

Trump said he is "directing the Department of Justice to work in partnership with local state and federal agencies, as well as social media companies, to develop tools that can detect mass shooters before they strike." Trump's suggestion has been criticized, mostly because asking internet companies to identify shooters before they stage an attack seems nearly impossible. However, Obama's call to reduce the influence of hate groups online seems far more manageable. 

Obama continued his statement by calling on the American people to reject hate and embrace diversity.

"We should soundly reject language coming out of the mouths of any leader that feeds a climate of fear and hatred or normalized racist sentiments; leaders who demonize those who don't look like us, or suggest that other people, including immigrants, threaten our way of life, or refer to other people as sub-human, or imply that America belongs to just one certain type of people," he wrote. Obama did not name anyone specifically by name. 

"We should soundly reject language coming out of the mouths of any leader that feeds a climate of fear and hatred or normalized racist sentiments; leaders who demonize those who don't look like us, or suggest that other people, including immigrants, threaten our way of life, or refer to other people as sub-human, or imply that America belongs to just one certain type of people," he wrote. Obama did not name anyo specifically by name. 

"It has no place in our politics and our public life. And it's time for the overwhelming majority of Americans of goodwill, of every race and faith and political party, to say as much — clearly and unequivocally."

Obama replied to his statement by sharing an article from Vox on gun reform, and reiterating that, "Until all of us stand up and insist on holding public officials accountable for changing our gun laws, these tragedies will keep happening."

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