Obama visits Oregon families

ROSEBURG, Ore. - At an unassuming brick high school here, President Obama on Friday took part in what has become one of the grimmest rituals of his presidency: He met privately with the families of the nine victims of the country's latest mass shooting at Umpqua Community College.

Obama emerged from an hour-long private meeting with the families here and, speaking softly, delivered brief remarks that seemed to acknowledge both his personal frustration and the broader rancor that divides the country today on the gun issue. "I've obviously got very strong feelings about this," he said, adding that at some point the nation would have to "come together" to figure out a way to prevent such tragedies from occurring with such regularity.

"Today is about the families," Obama said. He then placed his hand gently on Oregon Gov. Kate Brown's back as they walked to his limo.

This was the eighth time during his presidency that Obama has visited the scene of a mass shooting to console family members and pay his respects to the memories of those gunned down. "Somehow this has become routine," a deeply frustrated president told reporters in the White House in the first hours after last week's shooting. "We've become numb to this."

His trip to Roseburg was quick and relatively low-profile, especially compared with previous presidential appearances following mass shootings. There were no public speeches, only a 10-minute motorcade ride from the municipal airport, past crowds clustered in front of the Home Depot parking lot to the high school. There, a pile of wilting roses formed a makeshift memorial and the grieving family members waited for him.

The absence of any public appearances or remarks by the president reflected the nature of his visit. Obama was there to console the families of those killed in the shooting - "those profoundly affected by tragedy" - not to drum up support for changes to gun laws, said White House press secretary Josh Earnest.

The visit, which lasted only a few hours, had been added to a West Coast fund-raising trip in the days immediately after the shooting. Obama was already scheduled to appear in Seattle, just a short flight from Roseburg, on Friday night.

The decision not to have the president deliver a public speech in Roseburg may also have something to do with the politics of the town, a place that, despite the shooting, remains largely opposed to changes in gun laws and generally disapproves of the Obama presidency. Obama pulled in only 35 percent of the vote in the 2012 election in Roseburg and surrounding Douglas County. Local officials have spoken out forcefully against changes to the nation's gun laws.

A few hundred people gathered outside the airport to catch a glimpse of Obama's motorcade. A few dozen carried signs welcoming the president, while an equal number held signs to protest his visit or make clear their opposition to any new gun laws. Many held signs that said, "We support our sheriff" - a reference to Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin, who is among those opposing gun-law changes.