Washington D.C. – In this “Your Weekly Address” released on Saturday, President Barack Obama called on Congress to close the U.S. Gun Law loophole, which he qualified as “insane”.
People on the No-fly lists are allowed to buy guns and that represents an alarming weakness of the law. He admitted that the San Bernardino shooting suspects were highly influenced by Islamic State extremists and pointed out the importance of working together in order to prevent more tragedies, remarking that the safety of the Americans must be a top priority.
“I’m calling on Congress to close this loophole, now. We may not be able to prevent every tragedy, but – at a bare minimum – we shouldn’t be making it so easy for potential terrorists or criminals to get their hands on a gun that they could use against Americans,” the President said, on Saturday. He previously explained that people who are too dangerous to board a plane can still walk into a store and legally buy weapons, but that it is something that has to stop.
Obama encouraged the government, law enforcement, communities and faith leaders to be aware and take actions against the ISIS’s influence on people around the world and in the U.S. Prevention is key to avoid such terrorist acts led by radicalized people under the influence of violent extremist ideologies.
Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik shot 14 people to death on Wednesday, December 2, at a holiday party at the Inland Regional Center, according to officials. Both died in a police shootout and authorities found 12 pipe bombs plus a large amount of ammunition in the couple’s apartment, which shows how easy it is for criminals to have access to weapons.
Even though there is no evidence that the killers were part of a former terrorist group, Obama admitted that they possibly were supporters of ISIS. The FBI announced on Friday that they were treating the case as a terrorist attack. Malik, U.S. permanent resident, pledged allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi through a Facebook post before she died and the terror group confirmed on Saturday that Farook and Malik were on their side, asking God to accept them as martyrs through ISIS’ al-Bayan Radio.
Political disputes in a strongly polarized country
Obama’s reactions to the most deadly terrorist attack in the U.S. since September 2011 have led to criticism among Republicans, since the president focuses on gun control and avoids addressing the incident as part of the next world war, as New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie commented this week.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz expressed a few days ago his concern that the Obama administration refuses to recognize that U.S. enemies are at war and that further actions must be taken towards potential terrorism. He added that the nation needs a president who truly defends it in war times. These thoughts are shared by Donald Trump, who insists on persecuting the families of terrorists.
In contrast, Graham affirmed that Trump’s speech against Muslims is strengthening ISIS, as reported by CNN. The GOP candidate commented that the billionaire’s rhetoric is only empowering the enemy by raising hate among potentially radicalized people. This shows that there is no convergence among Republicans regarding the San Bernardino shooting.
Hilary Clinton said on Thursday that she believed that most of Muslim Americans are deeply concerned about terrorism just like anyone else in the country and, like any other Democrat, she is pushing for tighter gun safety laws.
Source: White House