Washington, DC – The White House on Monday acknowledged the fact that Sikhs have been the victims of anti-Muslim anger simmering across the US since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that killed thousands of Americans.
“It is certainly the case that Sikhs have been targeted in America in the past since 9/11, because they have been believed to be Muslims, and that has been a tragic event,” said White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.
Carney was replying to questions from White House Correspondents, including India America Today, the day after six people were shot and killed at a Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Police have identified the gunman as Wade Michael Page, 40, a self-proclaimed neo-Nazi and white supremacist and a former member of the US Army. Page was shot dead by a responding police team.
Asked about whether there are any plans for President Barack Obama to visit the grieving community after the fatal gun rampage, Carney said, “As for the President’s schedule, I don’t have any announcements to make about upcoming travel. If I do, I will certainly make everyone aware of that travel.”
Calling the shooting rampage horrific, Carney said, “We cannot lose sight of the fact that there is violence all the time in America and that we need to take concerted action to deal with it.”
Asked to comment by India America Today on how he was comparing the cold blooded killing of members of a peaceful community to street violence in America, Carney told journalists, “I can’t address the motivation behind the specific incident that happened just 24 hours ago,” adding, “I can’t address the motivation behind yesterday’s attack because it’s under investigation by the FBI and by local law enforcement.”
The chances of Americans, especially Sikhs, feeling any safer were brushed aside as Carney ruled out any possibility of President Obama pushing for new gun control laws, saying, “I have nothing new to announce.”
Carney, however, said the president “will continue to instruct his administration to take action towards common sense measures that protect the Second Amendment rights of law abiding citizens but make it harder and harder for those who should not have weapons under existing law to obtain them.”
“He believes that we have a broader issue with violence in America that needs to be addressed from a variety of angles, including efforts that this administration has undertaken to work with local communities, to try to get children out of gangs, to get kids out of gangs, to get kids back in school, working with local law enforcement in their efforts to fight crime,” Carney added.
President Obama has ordered US flags be flown at half-mast until August 10, 2012, in honor of the victims of the tragedy.