Carney: 'Not The Day' To Discuss Gun Control In The Wake Of Connecticut Shooting

 

In the wake of the tragic elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn., White House spokesman, Jay Carney, has told reporters that this is not the time to discuss gun control.

(Photo: Reuters)

Parents pick-up children outside Sandy Hook Elementary School after a shooting in Newtown, CT.

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When asked whether or not the school shooting would spark comments from Obama on gun control, Carney said that Friday -- the day of the shooting in which at least 27 people, including 18 elementary school children were shot -- was not the time to discuss the issue.

“We’re still waiting for more information about the incident in Connecticut,” Carney told a gathering of reporters, according to the Washington Post. “I’m sure [there] will be rather a day for discussion of the usual Washington policy debates, but I don’t think today is that day.”

Carney avoided discussing when exactly the president would begin a national conversation on gun control, adding that the tragic situation in Connecticut was still too fresh and that more information must be gathered.

“I think that day will come, but today’s not that day, especially as we are awaiting more information about the situation,” he said. “I really encourage all of us to give a moment here to focus on what is an unfolding tragedy in Connecticut, and not to engage in Washington policy battles of long running today.”

While Carney avoided discussing gun control in the wake of the Connecticut shooting, he said that the Obama administration will "do everything we can to support state and local law enforcement, to support those who are enduring what appears to be a very tragic event."

Obama was informed of the Connecticut shooting at around 10:30 a.m. EST by Homeland Security Advisor John Brennan, according to Buzzfeed. Obama has spent the morning discussing the situation with the FBI, and Business Insider said he will give a statement to the nation “shortly.”

The Connecticut shooting comes only a few months after another tragic shooting in a movie theater in Aurora, Colo.

After the Colorado shooting, Obama told the nation, "I hope that over the next several days, next several weeks, and next several months, we all reflect on how we can do something about some of the senseless violence that ends up marring this country."