Responding to today’s tragic shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon, the White House is calling for stricter gun control measures.
White House calls for more gun control after Oregon shooting
”The issue of sensible steps that can be taken to protect our communities from gun violence continues to be a top priority of this administration,” said Press Secretary Josh Earnest on Thursday afternoon.
According to the Hill, Earnest said that the “vast majority of Americans” want to beef up the nation’s gun laws.
But Earnest also acknowledged that President Obama was unlikely to get his wish. While the president favors passing new gun regulations, Republican leaders in Congress have shown no interest in doing so.
“The president has been quite candid about how this is and has been a source of frustration for him,” he said.
Last year, Obama described the issue as the “biggest frustration” of his presidency.
And he again expressed frustration in comments following the June church shooting in Charleston. “I’ve had to make statements like this too many times,” Obama said. “Once again, innocent people were killed in part because someone who wanted to inflict harm had no trouble getting their hands on a gun.”
