BOSTON GLOBE, CNN (USA)
NEWTOWN - On Monday the Connecticut town prepares for the first funerals of the mass shooting at an elementary school that killed 20 young children and six educators. President Obama vowed on Sunday to use “whatever power this office holds” in coming weeks to prevent other mass shootings like the one on Friday.
As Obama spoke at a vigil at Newtown High School, many in the audience sobbed, clutched teddy bears or hugged their children, the Boston Globe reported.
“We can’t tolerate this anymore. These tragedies must end,” the president said in a televised speech that lasted nearly 20 minutes. “And to end them, we must change. We will be told that the causes of such violence are complex and that is true. No single law, no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society, but that can’t be an excuse for inaction. Surely we can do better than this.”
CNN reports that just before Obama's remarks, a grassroots group Newtown United was established "to create meaningful dialogue, both locally and beyond, around the issues that led to this this senseless act of violence."
The group will send a delegation to Washington on Tuesday to meet with the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence as well as families from July's movie theater massacre in Aurora, Colorado.
But before that, on Monday, the first funerals will be held for the victims, most of them between the ages of six and seven.
