English subtitles for clip: File:President Obama Delivers a Statement in Orlando.webm

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The President: Four days
ago, this community was

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shaken by an evil
and hateful act.

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Today, we are reminded
of what is good.

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That there is compassion,
empathy and decency, and

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most of all, there is love.

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That's the Orlando that
we've seen in recent days.

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And that is the America
that we have seen.

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This afternoon, the Vice
President and I had the

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opportunity to meet with
many of the families here.

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As you might imagine, their
grief is beyond description.

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Through their pain and
through their tears, they

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told us about the joy that
their loved ones had brought

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to their lives.

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They talked about their sons
or their daughters -- so

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many young people, in
their 20s and 30s; so many

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students who were
focused on the future.

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One young woman was
just 18 years old.

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Another, said her father,
was a happy girl with so

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many dreams.

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There were siblings there
talking about their brothers

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and their sisters and how
they were role models that

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they looked up to.

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There were husbands and
wives who had taken a solemn

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vow; fathers and mothers who
gave their full hearts to

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their children.

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These families could
be our families.

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In fact, they are our family
-- they're part of the

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American family.

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Today, the Vice President
and I told them, on behalf

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of the American people, that
our hearts are broken, too,

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but we stand with you and
that we are here for you,

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and that we are remembering
those who you loved so deeply.

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As a nation, we've also been
inspired by the courage of

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those who risked their
lives and cared for others.

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Partners whose last moments
were spent shielding

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each other.

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The mother who gave her
life to save her son.

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The former Marine whose
quick thinking saved dozens

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of lives.

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Joe and I had the chance
to thank Mayor Dyer, Chief

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Mina, Sheriff Demings, all
who responded in heroic

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ways; the outstanding police
and first responders who

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were able to, through their
professionalism and quick

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response, rescue
so many people.

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We also owe a tremendous
debt of gratitude to all the

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doctors, all the nurses who
have worked day and night to

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treat the injured, save
lives and prevent even

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more anguish.

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As one of the doctors here
said, "after the worst of

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humanity reared its ugly
head...the best of humanity

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came roaring back."

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Let me get that quote more
precisely -- "after the

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worst of humanity reared
its evil head...the best of

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humanity came roaring back."

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Now, if we're honest with
ourselves, if, in fact, we

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want to show the best of our
humanity, then we're all

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going to have to work
together at every level of

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government, across political
lines, to do more to stop

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killers who want
to terrorize us.

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We will continue to be
relentless against terrorist

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groups like ISIL
and al Qaeda.

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We are going to
destroy them.

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We are going to disrupt
their networks, and their

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financing, and the flow of
fighters in and out

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of war theaters.

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We're going to disrupt their
propaganda that poisons so

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many minds around the world.

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We're going to do all that.

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Our resolve is clear.

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But given the fact that the
last two terrorist attacks

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on our soil -- Orlando and
San Bernardino -- were

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homegrown, carried out it
appears not by external

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plotters, not by vast
networks or sophisticated

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cells, but by deranged
individuals warped by the

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hateful propaganda that they
had seen over the Internet,

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then we're going to have to
do more to prevent these

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kinds of events
from occurring.

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It's going to take more
than just our military.

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It's going to require more
than just our

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intelligence teams.

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As good as they are, as
dedicated as they are, as

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focused as they are, if you
have lone wolf attacks like

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this, hatched in the minds
of a disturbed person, then

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we're going to have to take
different kinds of steps in

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order to prevent something
like this from happening.

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Those who were killed and
injured here were gunned

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down by a single killer with
a powerful assault weapon.

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The motives of this killer
may have been different than

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the mass shooters in
Aurora or Newtown, but the

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instruments of death
were so similar.

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And now, another 49
innocent people are dead.

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Another 53 are injured.

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Some are still fighting
for their lives.

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Some will have wounds that
will last a lifetime.

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We can't anticipate or catch
every single deranged person

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that may wish to do harm
to his neighbors, or his

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friends, or his
coworkers, or strangers.

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But we can do something
about the amount of damage

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that they do.

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Unfortunately, our politics
have conspired to make it as

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easy as possible for
a terrorist or just a

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disturbed individual like
those in Aurora and Newtown

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to buy extraordinarily
powerful weapons -- and they

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can do so legally.

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Today, once again, as has
been true too many times

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before, I held and hugged
grieving family members and

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parents, and they asked, why
does this keep happening?

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And they pleaded that we do
more to stop the carnage.

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They don't care
about the politics.

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Neither do I.

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Neither does Joe.

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And neither should any
parent out there who's

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thinking about their kids
being not in the wrong

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place, but in places where
kids are supposed to be.

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This debate needs to change.

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It's outgrown the old
political stalemates.

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The notion that the answer
to this tragedy would be to

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make sure that more people
in a nightclub are similarly

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armed to the killer
defies common sense.

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Those who defend the easy
accessibility of assault

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weapons should meet these
families and explain why

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that makes sense.

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They should meet with the
Newtown families -- some of

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whom Joe saw yesterday --
whose children would now be

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finishing fifth grade -- on
why it is that we think our

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liberty requires these
repeated tragedies.

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That's not the
meaning of liberty.

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I'm pleased to hear that the
Senate will hold votes on

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preventing individuals with
possible terrorist ties from

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buying guns, including
assault weapons.

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I truly hope that senators
rise to the moment and do

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the right thing.

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I hope that senators who
voted no on background

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checks after Newtown
have a change of heart.

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And then I hope the House
does the right thing, and

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helps end the plague of
violence that these weapons

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of war inflict on
so many young lives.

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I've said this before -- we
will not be able to stop

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every tragedy.

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We can't wipe away hatred
and evil from every heart in

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this world.

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But we can stop
some tragedies.

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We can save some lives.

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We can reduce the impact of
a terrorist attack if

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we're smart.

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And if we don't act, we will
keep seeing more massacres

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like this -- because we'll
be choosing to allow

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them to happen.

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We will have said, we don't
care enough to do something

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about it.

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Here in Orlando, we are
reminded not only of our

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obligations as a country
to be resolute against

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terrorists, we are reminded
not only of the need for us

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to implement smarter
policies to prevent mass

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shootings, we're also
reminded of what unites us

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as Americans, and that what
unites us is far stronger

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than the hate and the terror
of those who target us.

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For so many people here who
are lesbian, gay, bisexual,

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transgender, the Pulse
Nightclub has always been a

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safe haven, a place to
sing and dance, and most

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importantly, to be who you
truly are -- including for

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so many people whose
families are originally from

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Puerto Rico.

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Sunday morning, that
sanctuary was violated in

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the worst way imaginable.

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So whatever the motivations
of the killer, whatever

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influences led him down the
path of violence and terror,

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whatever propaganda he was
consuming from ISIL and al

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Qaeda, this was an act of
terrorism but it was also an

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act of hate.

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This was an attack on
the LGBT community.

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Americans were targeted
because we're a country that

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has learned to welcome
everyone, no matter who you

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are or who you love.

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And hatred towards
people because of sexual

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orientation, regardless of
where it comes from, is a

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betrayal of
what's best in us.

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Joe and I were talking on
the way over here -- you

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can't break up the world
into "us" and "them," and

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denigrate and express hatred
towards groups because of

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the color of their skin, or
their faith, or their sexual

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orientation, and not feed
something very dangerous in

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this world.

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So if there was ever a
moment for all of us to

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reflect and reaffirm our
most basic beliefs that

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everybody counts and
everybody has dignity, now

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is the time.

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It's a good time for all
of us to reflect on how we

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treat each other, and to
insist on respect and

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equality for
every human being.

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We have to end
discrimination and violence

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against our brothers and
sisters who are in the LGBT

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community -- here at home
and around the world,

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especially in countries
where they are

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routinely persecuted.

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We have to challenge the
oppression of women,

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wherever it occurs
-- here or overseas.

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There's only "us"
-- Americans.

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Here in Orlando, in the men
and women taken from us,

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those who loved them, we see
some of the true character

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of this country -- the best
of humanity coming roaring

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back; the love and the
compassion and the fierce

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resolve that will carry us
through not just through

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this atrocity, but through
whatever difficult times may

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confront us.

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It's our pluralism and our
respect for each other --

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including a young man who
said to a friend, he was

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"super proud" to be Latino.

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It's our love of country --
the patriotism of an Army

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reservist who was known
as "an amazing officer."

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It's our unity -- the
outpouring of love that so

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many across our country
have shown to our fellow

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Americans who are LGBT, a
display of solidarity that

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might have been unimaginable
even a few years ago.

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Out of this darkest of
moments, that gives us hope

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-- seeing people reflect,
seeing people's best

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instincts come out, maybe in
some cases, minds and

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hearts change.

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It is our strength and our
resilience -- the same

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determination of a man who
died here who traveled the

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world, mindful of the risks
as a gay man, but who spoke

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for us all when he said, "we
cannot be afraid...we are

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not going to be afraid."

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May we all find that same
strength in our own lives.

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May we all find that same
wisdom in how we treat

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one another.

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May God bless all who we
lost here in Orlando.

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May He comfort
their families.

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May He heal the wounded.

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May He bring some solace to
those whose hearts have

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been broken.

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May He give us resolve to do
what's necessary to reduce

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the hatred of this world,
curb the violence.

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And may He watch over this
country that we call home.

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Thank you very
much, everybody.