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President Obama speaks in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Oct. 1, 2015, about the shooting at the Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore.(Photo: Susan Walsh, AP)
WASHINGTON — A visibly frustrated President Obama offered condolences to the victims of the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>mass shooting at an Oregon college on Thursday,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>but he added that<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"our thoughts and prayers are not enough," and voters should demand changes to the nation's gun laws.
Having now spoken after more than a dozen<span style="color: Red;">*</span>senseless killings during his administration, Obama again called for "common sense" legislation aimed at preventing gun violence, and he mocked opponents of past initiatives he has pushed.
"Each time this happens, I'm<span style="color: Red;">*</span>going to bring this up," Obama said during emotional remarks in the White House press room. "Each time this happens, I am going to say that we can actually do something about it, but we're going to have to change our laws."
Obama noted that<span style="color: Red;">*</span>he has been to Roseburg, Ore., where the shooting took place, and "there are really good people there" who are the latest victims of gun violence.
"Somehow, this has become routine," Obama said. "The reporting is routine. My response here at this podium ends up being routine ...<span style="color: Red;">*</span>we've become numb to this."
Throughout his presidency, especially after shootings, Obama<span style="color: Red;">*</span>has called for legislation to try to stop gun violence, including enhanced background checks, an assault weapons ban, and improved mental health programs. On this occasion, the president said,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"it<span style="color: Red;">*</span>cannot be this easy for somebody<span style="color: Red;">*</span>who wants to inflict harm to get his or her hands on a gun."
As he echoed those calls in the wake of the Oregon shooting, Obama<span style="color: Red;">*</span>predicted that<span style="color: Red;">*</span>statements of opposition<span style="color: Red;">*</span>from gun rights groups were already being written. Many of those opponents will accuse him politicizing tragic shootings, the president said.
"Well, this is something we should politicize," Obama<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said. "It is relevant to our common life together, to the body politic."
He later said: "This is a political choice that we make,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to allow this to happen every few months in America."
Oregon officials said a 20-year-old man killed at least 10<span style="color: Red;">*</span>people in a shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, about 180 miles south of Portland.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Obama visited the city during his 2008 presidential campaign.
Obama has spoken in the wake of shooting tragedies on at least a dozen occasions, including the 2012 murders at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., and this past summer's killings at African-American church in Charleston, S.C.
Other countries have mental health issues, but none have the kind of gun violence the United States does, Obama said.
The president mocked opponents of gun control legislation, including those who say the solution is "more guns" or fewer safety laws.
"Does anybody really believe that?" Obama said.
Given the frequency of mass shootings, Obama said people should demand action at the federal and state levels, and make it an issue at election time. He also said lawful gun owners should question whether gun rights organizations are truly representing their views when it comes to efforts to prevent violence.
“I hope and pray that I don’t have to come out again during my tenure as president to offer my condolences to families in these circumstances," Obama said. "But based on my experience as president,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>I can't guarantee that —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and that's terrible to say. And it can change."
Contributing: Gregory Korte
More coverage of the Oregon shooting:
USA TODAY
Up to 13 killed by shooter at Ore. community college
USA TODAY
Oregon community college shooting: What we know now
USA TODAY
2015 school year off to a violent start
USA TODAY
Tributes pour in for #UCCshooting victims
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