Obama meets with families of San Bernardino victims


President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama met privately with the families of all 14 people killed in the Dec. 2 mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, The New York Times reports.
"Even as we are vigilant about preventing terrorist attacks from happening, even as we insist that we can't accept the notion of mass shootings in public places and places of work and worship, we have to remind ourselves of the overwhelming good that exists out there," Obama told reporters. The families, he continued, "could not have been more inspiring and more proud of their loved ones or more insistent that something good comes out of this tragedy."
At the local high school, the Obamas also spoke to emergency responders. The trip, The Washington Post notes, marks the ninth time the president has visited a city to offer his condolences after a mass shooting.
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"As difficult as this time is for them and for the entire community, they're also representative of the strength and the unity and the love that exists in this community and in this country," Obama said.
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Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.
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