President Obama addressed the nation Sunday morning to react to the news of the Islamist attack in Orlando, Florida.
“Today, as Americans, we grieve the brutal murder—a horrific massacre—of dozens of innocent people,” he said. “We pray for their families, who are grasping for answers with broken hearts.
“We stand with the people of Orlando, who have endured a terrible attack on their city. Although it’s still early in the investigation, we know enough to say that this was an act of terror and an act of hate. And as Americans, we are united in grief, in outrage and in resolve to defend our people.”
Although local law enforcement were already noting the connection to ISIS and Islamic terrorism, the president never made reference to either. The shooter, 29-year-old Omar Mir Seddique Mateen, called 911 prior to the attack to pledge allegiance to the Islamic State, and the Islamist organization later took credit for the attack.
“We are still learning all the facts,” Obama said. “This is an open investigation. We’ve reached no definitive judgment on the precise motivations of the killer. The FBI is appropriately investigating this as an act of terrorism. And I’ve directed that we must spare no effort to determine what—if any—inspiration or association this killer may have had with terrorist groups. What is clear is that he was a person filled with hatred. Over the coming days, we’ll uncover why and how this happened, and we will go wherever the facts lead us.”
The attack took place at a night club that catered to homosexuals. Obama referenced this fact in his speech, saying Mateen “targeted a night club where people came together to be with friends, to dance and to sing, and to live.”
“The place where they were attacked is more than a night club—it is a place of solidarity and empowerment where people have come together to raise awareness, to speak their minds and to advocate for their civil rights,” he said. “So this is a sobering reminder that attacks on any American—regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation—is an attack on all of us and on the fundamental values of equality and dignity that define us as a country.
“And no act of hate or terror will ever change who we are or the values that make us Americans.”
The attack was the deadliest since 9/11, and the worst mass shooting in the nation’s history. And, as a result, the president used the opportunity to once again call for greater restrictions on Second Amendment-protected rights.
“The shooter was apparently armed with a handgun and a powerful assault rifle,” he said. “This massacre is therefore a further reminder of how easy it is for someone to get their hands on a weapon that lets them shoot people in a school, or in a house of worship, or a movie theater, or in a nightclub.
“And we have to decide if that’s the kind of country we want to be. And to actively do nothing is a decision as well.”
As he concluded his speech, Obama called on Americans to pray for the victims, and for their families. He also asked for prayers for “courage to change” America.
“In the coming hours and days, we’ll learn about the victims of this tragedy,” he said. “Their names. Their faces. Who they were. The joy that they brought to families and to friends, and the difference that they made in this world.
“Say a prayer for them and say a prayer for their families—that God give them the strength to bear the unbearable. And that He give us all the strength to be there for them, and the strength and courage to change. We need to demonstrate that we are defined more—as a country—by the way they lived their lives than by the hate of the man who took them from us.”
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