We Americans are not an inherently more violent people than folks in other countries. We're not inherently more prone to mental health problems. The main difference that sets our nation apart is what makes us so susceptible to so many mass shootings is that we don't do enough, we don't take the basic commonsense actions to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and dangerous people. What's different in America is it's easy to get your hands on a gun.
Barack ObamaWe have a historic opportunity to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons in Iran, and to do so peacefully, with the international community firmly behind us. We should seize that chance.
Barack ObamaThey will tell you that the Americans who sleep in the streets and beg for food got there because theyโre all lazy or weak of spirit. That the inner-city children who are trapped in dilapidated schools canโt learn and wonโt learn and so we should just give up on them entirely. That the innocent people being slaughtered and expelled from their homes half a world away are somebody elseโs problem to take care of.
Barack ObamaEven as we implement the nuclear deal and welcome our Americans home, we recognize that there remain about differences between the United States and Iran. We remain steadfast in opposing Iran's destabilizing behavior elsewhere, including its against Israel and our Gulf partners and its support for violent proxies in places like Syria and Yemen.
Barack Obama