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Offering sympathy but no easy answers, President Barack Obama traveled Thursday to Orlando to try to console those mourning the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.Obama's solemn visit was meant to express solidarity with a grief-stricken community and to show some measure of unity from a political world that has largely used Sunday morning's shooting to renew its fights over guns and terrorism.Arriving with a bipartisan group of lawmakers, Obama drove immediately to Amway Center, a basketball arena just two miles from the scene of the Pulse nightclub massacre, to meet privately with families of the 49 victims, as well as survivors and law enforcement."These families could be our families," Obama said. "In fact, they are our family. They're part of the American family."%INLINE%After meeting with families and survivors, Obama met with the owner and staff of Pulse who were working at the time of the sh

President Barack Obama flew to Florida on Air Force One to meet with the families of the 49 victims of the Orlando shooting on Thursday. During a moment of reflection he addressed the press, calling the shooting “an act of terror and an act of hate,” NBC News reports.

The president was also accompanied by Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Marco Rubio, who hails from Florida.

“These families could be our families. In fact, they are our family. They are part of the American family,” Obama said.

President Obama and the vice president visited a makeshift memorial at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts and carried large bouquets of white flowers, placing them gently near other memorabilia honoring the victims.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Gov. Rick Scott also greeted the president and vice president as they arrived at the memorial.

Obama again vowed to fight ISIS, but also made a storied plea for gun control reform.

“Our politics have conspired to make it as easy as possible for a terrorist …to buy extraordinary powerful weapons and they can do so legally,” Obama said, adding that he held grieving parents who knew that “they don’t care about politics. Neither do I. This debate needs to change.”

SOURCES: NBC News | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty, Twitter | VIDEO CREDIT: Inform

SEE ALSO: 

Islamophobia Or Homophobia? Orlando Massacre Sparks Debate

Victim Of Orlando Shooting Says Mateen Declared, “Black People Have Suffered Enough”

President Obama: Politics Make It Easier For Terrorists To Buy Weapons  was originally published on newsone.com

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