It was absolutely no surprise that the usual suspects — we’re looking at you, Piers Morgan — took the occasion of today’s shooting at the Washington Navy Yard to shame the nation for not yet passing whatever gun control measures would have stopped today’s tragedy. It was a bit surprising to hear White House Press Secretary Jay Carney suggest to the White House Press Corps that it might be a little early to start talking gun control again. Tomorrow, maybe, but not today.
Carney responded to questions about the shooting by saying, “it would be inappropriate to try to put in context something about which we have so few facts.” Carney is infamous for appreciating but not answering questions about ongoing investigations, but this ongoing investigation didn’t involve a White House scandal but a mass shooting.
That didn’t keep reporters from pressing Carney to link the shooting to the president’s ongoing gun control push. Instead of the White House using the media to push the message of gun control to the people, today it was the press asking when the president was going to do more about gun violence.
Huffington Post’s Sabrina Siddiqui was there at the briefing.
Carney asked why there hasn't been a new gun control law proposed by the White House. I thought that was shot down in April?
— Sabrina Siddiqui (@SabrinaSiddiqui) September 16, 2013
Carney says the president was very clear in his disappointment with the Senate for failing to act on gun violence. "That was a shame."
— Sabrina Siddiqui (@SabrinaSiddiqui) September 16, 2013
Carney at WH briefing regarding the #NavyYardShooting & the gun control debate: It's too early to speak of the broader meaning
— Athena Jones (@AthenaCNN) September 16, 2013
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Asked whether today's events will restart gun control debate – Carney: "President supports common sense measures to reduce gun violence."
— Shannon Bream (@ShannonBream) September 16, 2013
Carney says Obama will continue to take action to reduce gun violence through executive action, hopes Congress will also act.
— Sabrina Siddiqui (@SabrinaSiddiqui) September 16, 2013
The president has, actually, kept on issuing executive actions on guns, albeit quietly. One area could use immediate attention, though.
https://twitter.com/msbizz73/status/379717013012480000
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