When 20 first graders and 6 teachers and administrators were shot dead in a few minutes at a school in Newtown, Connecticut, probably everyone in America experienced it in a terribly personal way. This is a photo of President Obama when he was first briefed on that massacre. He called it the worst day of his presidency.
It remains a personal matter to him, and several photos (including this) released as part of White House photographer Pete Souza's choices as his favorite photos he took this year (collected at TPM ) involve this horrific event. Another is this photo, of President Obama preparing his speech for the Newtown vigil. He is doing so during breaks in a rehearsal he attended, of a school performance of the Nutcracker, which included his 11 year old daughter, Sasha.
This is one of many photos of President Obama with beaming children, who seem to take to him. But this photo was taken when he visited with families of victims of the Sandy Hook school shootings. The children are siblings and cousins of Emile Parker, one of the 20 children killed. (The family gave permission for the photo to be published.)
These photos should remind everyone why this must remain personal, and why (according to this TPM story) President Obama is intent on quickly passing laws to ban assault weapons and high capacity ammunition, as part of a thoughtful, heartfelt and sustained effort to reduce gun deaths and gun violence in America. Update: a story on how broad this package might be, simply on changes to gun laws.
(I plan to post some of the other Souza picks in the coming days, taken on happier occasions.)
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