In the wake of a mass shooting at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, that left 10 people including a police officer dead, former President Barack Obama has issued a statement on Twitter calling out “cowardly politicians” for failing to meaningfully act to stop gun violence in America. Republican leaders routinely offer long-winded defenses of possession of substantial firepower on the part of everyday Americans, but the reality is that weapons that go well beyond self-defense and hunting consistently drive horrifying mass shootings across the country.
President Biden orders that flags be flown at half-staff to honor the victims of the Boulder shooting.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) March 23, 2021
Saying that he and former First Lady Michelle Obama “grieve with the families of the victims of the shooting in Boulder, just as we grieve with the families of the people killed in Atlanta and everyone else who has lost a loved one to gun violence,” the former president commented as follows:
‘In so many ways, our lives may soon start to return to normal after a long, difficult year filled with so much loss. But in a normal life, we should be able to buy groceries without fear. We should be able to go to school, or go out with our friends, or worship together without mentally planning our escape if someone shows up with a gun. We should be able to live our lives without wondering if the next trip outside our home could be our last. We should. But in America, we can’t.’
26 lives taken in Newtown should have led to change.
9 lives taken in Charleston should have led to change.
17 lives taken in Parkland should have led to change.
10 lives taken in Boulder needs to lead to change.
Our hearts cannot break anymore. We need gun control. Now.
— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) March 23, 2021
Obama continued by pointing to the failures of “cowardly politicians.” As he put it:
‘It is long past time for those with the power to fight this epidemic of gun violence to do so… [We] can make it harder for those with hate in their hearts to buy weapons of war. We can overcome opposition by cowardly politicians and the pressure of a gun lobby that opposes any limit on the ability of anyone to assemble an arsenal. We can, and we must.’
Check out the former president’s full statement by clicking on the post below:
A once-in-a-century pandemic cannot be the only thing that slows mass shootings in this country. It’s time for leaders everywhere to listen to the American people when they say enough is enough. pic.twitter.com/7MEJ87Is3E
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) March 23, 2021
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) pledged on Tuesday that he would “bring universal background checks legislation to the Senate floor,” although it’s unclear what fate that the legislation might meet.
My heart goes out to the people of Boulder and the families of those who lost their lives.
This unrelenting epidemic of gun violence steals innocent lives with alarming regularity in America.
I will bring universal background checks legislation to the Senate floor
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) March 23, 2021
Check out Twitter’s response to Obama below:
