President Obama took to Facebook Wednesday to remember the victims of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., using the tragedy to call for tougher gun laws and to lecture opponents of his gun control agenda.
“We’ve tried to change. My administration has taken action to tighten the background check system and make it more efficient, strengthen enforcement of existing laws, boost gun safety technology, and help more Americans suffering with mental illness get the help they need,” Obama wrote.
“Still, Congress failed to pass gun safety reforms, including universal background checks that had the bipartisan support of the vast majority of Americans, even as more mass shootings have riddled America in the years since. But I still believe that there are enough good people on both sides of this issue who care more about protecting our kids than defending effortless access to guns for those who would do our kids harm. I still believe we have the courage to change.”
Obama has said one of his biggest regrets was his inability to strengthen the nation’s gun laws in the wake of the Newtown and other massacres.
The usually cool Obama has lost his composure only a few times in his presidency, most notably when recalling Newtown.
“Four years ago today 20 beautiful children and six heroic educators were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary,” Obama wrote.
“Today, we remember them — the staff and teachers who responded to the danger in their hallways with strength and resolve, guiding the children to safety, even giving their lives to protect the children in their care. We remember the first responders who rushed to the scene to help, holding their own shock at bay because others needed them more. And we remember the children who held each other in the face of unconscionable evil.”
