6月12日奥巴马总统在白宫新闻会上就奥兰多同性恋夜总会发生的大规模枪杀事件讲话。(© AP Images)
美国之音（VOA）报道——星期天神色严肃凝重的奥巴马总统走到白宫新闻发布厅讲台前，向凌晨在佛罗里达州奥兰多（Orlando，Florida）夜总会发生的枪杀事件的遇难者的亲人表示哀悼。
这是奥巴马总统任期内第15次在发生大规模枪杀事件后向美国人发表讲话。
奥巴马总统说（白宫视频），这起屠杀“是美国历史上最惨重的枪杀事件 “。他说，联邦调查局（FBI）局长詹姆斯·科米（James Comey ）向他做了汇报，并说： “虽然现在仍处于调查初期，但我们已了解足够的情况，可以说，这是一起恐怖行动，一起仇恨行动。”
奥巴马总统说，“任何恐怖或仇恨行为都无法改变我们”，但他指出，这起大规模枪杀事件严肃提醒我们，对任何美国人的攻击就是对我们全体美国人的攻击。
奥巴马具体谈到，这起残暴的枪杀与人质事件是发生在一个著名的同性恋夜总会。
他说：“这对于我们身为女同性恋、男同性恋、双性恋或跨性别者的所有朋友来说——对我们的美国同胞来说——是尤其悲伤的一天。枪手的目标是一个人们来与朋友相聚的地方，一个跳舞、唱歌、享受生活的地方。他们遭到攻击的这个地方不仅仅是一个夜总会——它是一个大家聚在一起显示团结与权利的地方，一个提高认识，畅所欲言，弘扬公民权利的地方。”
现已确定，星期天凌晨在奥兰多夜总会造成约50人死亡的枪手名叫奥马尔·萨迪奎·马丁（Omar Saddiqui Mateen），是阿富汗后裔美国公民。联邦调查局表示，对他所犯罪行正在按照“恐怖主义行动”罪进行调查。
(本文来源于美国之音报道)
‘This was an act of terror and an act of hate’
President Obama speaks about the massacre at an Orlando gay nightclub during a news conference at the White House on June 12. (© AP Images)
(VOA) — A stern and somber U.S. President Obama took to the podium in the White House briefing room in Washington Sunday to express his condolences to the families of those killed overnight in an Orlando nightclub shooting.
It was the 15th time he has had to address the American people after a mass shooting during his tenure in office.
Obama said the massacre “marks the most deadly shooting in American history.” He said he was briefed at the White House by FBI Director James Comey and added: “Although it’s still early in the investigation, we know enough to say that this was an act of terror and an act of hate.”
The president said, “No act of terror or hate can change who we are,” but he added that the mass shooting is a “sobering reminder” that an attack on any American is an attack on all of us.
Obama addressed the fact that the brutal shooting and hostage-taking attack took place at an iconic gay nightclub.
“This is an especially heartbreaking day for all our friends — our fellow Americans — who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. The shooter targeted a nightclub where people came together to be with friends, to dance and to sing, and to live. The place where they were attacked is more than a nightclub — it is a place of solidarity and empowerment where people have come together to raise awareness, to speak their minds, and to advocate for their civil rights.”
The gunman responsible for the killing of at least 50 people in an Orlando, Florida, nightclub early Sunday has been identified as Omar Saddiqui Mateen, a U.S. citizen of Afghan descent who the FBI said committed a crime that is being investigated as an “act of terrorism.”
Courtesy of Voice of America
