Obama says America is not as divided as some suggest, but guns help fuel tensions
In Poland, the US president reprises frustration over lax gun laws
After a crushing week of attacks, protests and anger, US President Barack Obama touched on the values that unite Americans before diving headlong into the debate over guns, one of the most divisive issues of his presidency.
“We don’t know what happened, but we do know that there was a gun in the car that apparently was licensed, but it caused in some fashion those tragic events,” Obama said of Castile’s shooting.
“This has been a tough week, first and foremost for the families of those who have been killed, but also for the entire American family,” Obama said.
Obama had been scheduled to return to Washington on Monday after two days in Spain, but he decided to curtail his trip and come back Sunday night after a meeting with that country’s interim prime minister and a visit with US military personnel. He is expected to visit Dallas early this week.
Obama emphasised in his remarks that the United States “is not as divided as some have suggested,” and he noted that Americans of “all races and backgrounds” were outraged by the attacks on police.
On the gun issue, he said the polarisation in the country pitted “a very intense minority” against the “majority of Americans who actually think we could be doing better when it comes to gun safety.”
The president described the prevalence of guns in some poor neighbourhoods as a contributing factor to the broader tensions between police and the people they are supposed to protect. He cited the deadly protest in Dallas on Thursday as an example.
Obama said some of the protesters in Dallas, a large city in a state where people can openly carry weapons with a license, were armed during the march.
“Imagine if you are a police officer and you are trying to sort out who is shooting at you and there are a bunch of people who have got guns on them,” he added.
He vowed to continue talking about the need for gun reforms, even in the aftermath of the tragedies.
“We can’t just ignore that and pretend that’s somehow political or the president is pushing his policy agenda,” Obama said.
“It is a contributing factor. Not the sole factor, but a contributing factor to the broader tensions that arise between police and the communities that they serve. And so we have to talk about that.”
Illustrating the divide among Americans over gun rights, Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said that men like the Dallas gunman “are not going to be confined by a gun law that we pass.”
Paxton, whose state has among the most permissive gun policies in America, added, “Our goal here in Texas is to protect law-abiding citizens. And since we cannot have a police force that guards every person, we want people to be able to protect themselves.”
Authorities named former US Army Reserve soldier Micah Johnson, a 25-year-old African-American, as the lone gunman.
Dallas Police Chief David Brown on Friday said the Dallas gunman cited his anger over police killings during his protracted negotiations with police after the shootings.
Johnson had served in the US military in the Afghan war.
A search of his home just outside Dallas found bomb-making materials, ballistic vests, rifles, ammunition and a personal journal of combat tactics, though he had no previous criminal history, police said on Friday.
Additional reporting by Reuters
