Mass Shooting in Roseburg, Oregon on Umpqua Community College Campus. President Obama's Address to the Nation Regarding Another Mass Shooting in America

By Kathleen

On Thursday morning a shooter opened fire on the campus of Oregon's Umpqua Community College. There have been conflicting reports regarding the numbers of casualties but recent figures suggest that ten have been killed and at least seven injured. The gunman has been identified as Chris Harper Mercer, a 26 years old man, who ironically on a social media dating website described himself as a "lover, conservative, professional, intellectual, introvert" who is "not religious but spiritual".  

Soon afterwards a clearly upset President Obama addressed the nation regarding this latest senseless shooting. He seemed at a loss to understand why such events keep on reoccurring as he repeated yet again his sentiment that "prayers and thoughts are not enough". It's a sentiment that many of us reading here can identify with. 

In his address President Obama also struck out at claims that the people who commit such horrific mass murders do so because of mental illness. He said that "We are not the only country on earth that has people with mental illnesses" but "we are the only advanced country on earth that sees these kinds of mass shootings every few months."

It's the number of guns that are the cause. That and how easy it is for American people to get hold of them. And also that of the existence of an association, the NRA, which encourages more and more guns and less and less regulations regarding their use and who can own them. 

Until such issues are resolved the shootings will continue and more innocent lives will be lost. Countries such as Australia and the United Kingdom which vastly regulated gun control have seen a significant decrease in such horrific crimes. It's time for America to do the same. If not now, when? If not now, why? 

President Obama addresses America after the shooting in Roseburg Oregon: