In light on this tragedy, the focus in the coming days will undoubtedly turn toward gun control.
There is no doubt that guns and an assault weapons ban will soon be a hot topic. The president hinted at it this afternoon while discussing the tragedy.
"As a country, we have been through this too many times… We are going to have to come together and take meaningful action, to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics,” said President Obama.
President Obama listed several tragedies from this year, from Aurora to Newtown, and called for change, something gun advocates fear.
“Well this is an extremely tragic event, this really has more to do with domestic terrorism, I would agree with the president, that we need meaningful action and deal with criminal behavior,” said Patrick Jones.
Redding gun retailer Patrick Jones says the problem is not guns, but criminal behavior and people that are intent on harming others.
“You can ban all the firearms you want, when the criminals still exist, a criminal will continue to find a way to create these heinous acts,” said Jones.
But Karen Arntzen with the Brady Campaign says gun violence in the United States has increased since the Federal Assault Weapons ban expired in 2004.
“Many people in this country will not allow anyone to have a conversation about gun control because they just shut it down by saying anything that you do infringes on my Second Amendment right,” said Arntzen
She adds sensible controls can be put in place that support the Second Amendment.
“There are a lot of things you can do to make our country safer without infringing on anyone’s right to own a gun in their home for self defense,” said Arntzen.
“The firearms here are not the problem, it’s the individual that is the problem,” said Jones.
During his 2008 campaign, President Obama indicated that he was in support of re-instating the assault weapons ban. The white house on Friday indicated that he still supports the re-instatement of that ban.
