Trump Condemns Racism, Bigotry and White Supremacy After Weekend Shootings

PHOTO: CNP/ZUMA PRESS

President Trump condemned white supremacy and called for restricting access to firearms for those deemed public-safety risks, in his first formal remarks to the nation since back-to-back shootings over the weekend left 31 people dead.

“These barbaric slaughters are an assault upon our communities, an attack upon our nation and a crime against all of humanity,” Mr. Trump said, speaking in the Diplomatic Room of the White House. “We vow to act with urgent resolve.”

The president condemned racism, bigotry and white supremacy in his sharpest terms yet. “These sinister ideologies must be defeated,” he said.

The shooting in El Paso is being investigated as a possible hate crime, as authorities scrutinize an anti-immigrant manifesto purportedly penned by the suspect that described a potential mass shooting as a response to an “invasion of Texas” by Hispanic immigrants.

The president offered an array of proposals to end what he called an “evil contagion” sweeping the nation, but stopped short of calling for major legislation to restrict the sale of firearms in the U.S. He called for an end to the “glorification of violence” in video games and criticized the internet for providing a “dangerous avenue” to “radicalized, disturbed minds.”

Mr. Trump also said he had directed the Justice Department to propose legislation to ensure those who commit hate crimes and mass murders face the death penalty. And he called for overhauling mental-health laws to “better identify mentally disturbed individuals,” including more involuntary confinement.

“Mental illness and hatred pulls the trigger, not the gun,” the president said.

Mr. Trump didn’t offer specifics on his call to restrict access to firearms to those deemed a “grave risk” to public safety. He also endorsed red-flag laws, which have been adopted by more than a dozen states and are aimed at temporarily blocking dangerous people from accessing firearms. Such laws are supported by some Republicans in the Senate.

Read the rest from the WSJ HERE.

If you like what you see, please "Like" us on Facebook either here or here. Please follow us on Twitter here.