In one of his most expansive responses yet to gun crime, President Barack Obama
on Wednesday embraced some degree of control on the sale of weapons but
said he would also seek a national consensus on combating violence. He
said responsibility for curtailing bloodshed also rests with parents,
neighbors and teachers to ensure that young people "do not have that
void inside them."
Speaking
just six days after the movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colo., that
left 12 dead, Obama pledged to work with lawmakers of both parties to
stop violence, not only the sudden massacres that have bedeviled the
nation, but the steady drip of urban crime that has cost many
young lives.
"We
should leave no stone unturned and recognize that we have no greater
mission that keeping our young people safe," Obama said in a speech to
the National Urban League.
Obama
called for stepped-up background checks for people who want to purchase
guns and restrictions to keep mentally unbalanced individuals from
buying weapons. He says those steps "shouldn't be controversial, they
should be common sense."
But
he also added: "We must also understand that when a child opens fire on
other children, there's a hole in his heart that no government
can fill."
Obama's
speech represented a bookend to a four-day trip that began in Colorado
on Sunday when he visited with survivors of the theater massacre.
For
Obama, the address to the National Urban League was a necessary
overture to a voting bloc that overwhelmingly backs him but that has
sustained much of the brunt of the economic downturn.
In
his speech Obama promoted his economic and health care policies,
tailoring what has become a standard campaign speech to his
African-American audience. He drew attention to initiatives that have
helped Americans in general, and African-Americans in particular.
But, as he did during his 2008 campaign, he also pressed personal responsibility.
He
said young Americans are competing against kids in Beijing and
Bangalore. "You know, they're not hanging out ... they're not playing
video games, they're not watching 'Real Housewives,'" he said. "I'm just
saying. It's a two-way street. You've got to earn success."
Ahead
of Obama's remarks, the Urban League played a video showing photos of
famous African-Americans that culminated with images of the president
and his family the night of the 2008 election. The crowd of several
thousand responded with thunderous applause that was sustained as Obama
walked on stage and peppered with chants of "four more years."
Obama
spoke on the same day that the Senate gave him a political victory by
passing an extension of Bush-era tax cuts for households with less than
$250,000 in earnings. The president has made retaining current tax rates
for middle-class taxpayers a central piece of his economic policy while
rejecting Republican efforts to extend the current tax rates for all.
Under Obama's plan, taxes for wealthier Americans would rise.
The Senate
measure, however, was expected to go no further because of the
Republican-dominated House.
While
enthusiasm among some Obama supporters has faded since 2008, support
for America's first black president remains high among
African-Americans. In a recent Associated Press-GfK poll, 82 percent of
black adults said they would vote for Obama. His approval rating among
blacks was 87 percent.
Obama skipped an appearance at the NAACP
earlier this month, raising questions about whether his campaign was
taking black voters for granted. The White House blamed a scheduling
conflict and sent Vice President Joe Biden to address the nation's oldest civil rights organization.
Republican challenger Mitt Romney also addressed the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People,
raising eyebrows when he told the crowd: "If you want a president who
will make things better in the African-American community, you are
looking at him."
Obama
announced that he would sign an executive order on Thursday that
creates a new office to bolster the education of African-American
students. The White House says the office will coordinate the work of
communities and federal agencies to ensure that these youngsters are
better prepared for high school, college and career.
Obama
also was raised campaign money at two separate stops in New Orleans: an
intimate 20-person event at the cost of $25,000 per person, and a
larger event at the House of Blues for 400 people, with tickets starting at $250.
Obama
raised at least $6 million at events this week in California, Oregon
and Washington. The president started the trip Sunday with a stop in
Colorado to meet with survivors and families of the victims of last
week's movie theater massacre.
