Obama meets families of victims

Also in Oregon, he says U.S. must unite to prevent shootings

Mayor Kitty Piercy of Eugene, Ore., greets President Barack Obama as he arrives Friday for a visit to Roseburg, Ore., to meet privately with families of the victims of the mass shooting last week at Umpqua Community College. Obama’s motorcade got a mixed reception at Roseburg, with gun-rights supporters protesting his presence but others welcoming him.
Mayor Kitty Piercy of Eugene, Ore., greets President Barack Obama as he arrives Friday for a visit to Roseburg, Ore., to meet privately with families of the victims of the mass shooting last week at Umpqua Community College. Obama’s motorcade got a mixed reception at Roseburg, with gun-rights supporters protesting his presence but others welcoming him.

ROSEBURG, Ore. -- The public must "come together" to figure out how to keep deadly mass shootings from happening, President Barack Obama said Friday. But he emerged from a private meeting with families of the victims of last week's shooting in Oregon to declare: "Today is about the families."

Addressing reporters briefly after the approximately hour-long meeting at Roseburg High School, Obama said occasions like these always remind him that any child, parent or family member could suffer such a loss.

Immediately after a gunman killed eight students and a teacher at Roseburg's Umpqua Community College last week, Obama said thoughts and prayers are no longer enough in the aftermath and that the nation's gun laws needed to be changed. He pledged to "politicize" the issue.

But that message didn't sit well in Roseburg, where gun ownership is popular. Hundreds of supporters and protesters gathered near the local airport for Obama's arrival, with signs welcoming him mixed with others advocating gun rights.

Some of the protesters carried holstered handguns. Others had signs saying Obama was not welcome.

Some supporters also greeted the presidential motorcade, waving American flags and holding signs that said "Welcome."

A woman holding a sign that said "Please Leave Us in Peace" was among the first of a few hundred people who lined the route used by Obama's motorcade. One man's sign read "United We Stand ... Obama We Fail!"

"By coming here, Obama is going to politicize a tragedy by saying that you have to have gun control," George Starr said as he held a small American flag.

"It's not that we are bloodthirsty; it's that we want to protect ourselves and our families," he said.

The attitude is shared by many people in the conservative region where it is common for residents to own guns for hunting, target shooting and self-protection.

"I'm here to tell Obama he is not welcome in our county. He is exploiting the local tragedy with his gun control agenda," said Bruce Rester, a retired truck driver who was wearing a handgun in a holster over his chest.

Some of the protesters carried signs with messages like "Pray for UCC" and "UCC Strong."

The signs refer to Umpqua Community College, where Christopher Harper-Mercer killed eight students and a teacher before turning the gun on himself.

Billie McMillian, a business owner from Eagle Point who attended the protest with her husband, said they came to support the families of the victims and because they didn't agree with the president.

"We support the Second Amendment. It's our God-given right to protect ourselves," she said.

Protesters also carried signs voicing support for Sheriff John Hanlin, who has been at the forefront during news conferences about the college shooting.

Obama's stop in Roseburg, which did not feature any public appearances, was a last-minute addition to a previously scheduled weekend trip to Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Obama told reporters in Roseburg after the meeting that the families wanted to communicate how much they appreciated the nation's "help, thoughts and prayers."

"I've obviously got very strong feelings about this," he said, adding that at some point the nation would have to unite to figure out how to prevent such shootings from happening so regularly.

Information for this article was contributed by Kevin Freking, Jonathan J. Cooper and Gosia Wozniacka of The Associated Press and by Toluse Olorunnipa of Bloomberg News.

A Section on 10/10/2015

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