Tag Archives: Francine Wheeler

News, Politics, Government

President Obama: "Why I'm not giving the Weekly Address"

Leave a comment

By <a href="/author-detail/3336903">Matt Compton</a>

This morning, President Obama, sent the message below to the White House email list, explaining why he asked Francine Wheeler to deliver the Weekly Address. If you didn't get the email, be sure to sign up.

Hello, everybody —

Each week, like many presidents before me, I sit down to record a short address to the nation. It's something I take very seriously because it offers a chance to bring focus to an issue that needs to be part of the national dialogue.

But today, I've asked someone to take my place.

Francine Wheeler is a mother. She and her family live in Newtown, Connecticut. Four months ago, her six year-old son Ben was murdered in his elementary school, along with 19 other children and six brave educators.

Joined by her husband David, Francine shares her perspective about the steps we can take to reduce gun violence and prevent the kind of tragedy she understands all too well.

It's a message that every American should hear:

read more

From: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/04/13/president-obama-why-im-not-giving-weekly-address

News, Politics, Government

Weekly Address: Sandy Hook Victim’s Mother Calls for Commonsense Gun Responsibility Reforms

Leave a comment

By The White House

Remarks of Francine Wheeler
The President’s Weekly Address

Hi. As you’ve probably noticed, I’m not the President. I’m just a citizen. And as a citizen, I’m here at the White House today because I want to make a difference and I hope you will join me.

My name is Francine Wheeler. My husband David is with me. We live in Sandy Hook, Connecticut.

David and I have two sons. Our older son Nate, soon to be 10 years old, is a fourth grader at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Our younger son, Ben, age six, was murdered in his first-grade classroom on December 14th, exactly 4 months ago this weekend.

David and I lost our beloved son, but Nate lost his best friend. On what turned out to be the last morning of his life, Ben told me, quite out of the blue, “ I still want to be an architect, Mama, but I also want to be a paleontologist, because that’s what Nate is going to be and I want to do everything Nate does.”

Ben’s love of fun and his excitement at the wonders of life were unmatched His boundless energy kept him running across the soccer field long after the game was over. He couldn’t wait to get to school every morning. He sang with perfect pitch and had just played at his third piano recital. Irrepressibly bright and spirited, Ben experienced life at full tilt.

Until that morning. 20 of our children, and 6 of our educators – gone. Out of the blue.

I’ve heard people say that the tidal wave of anguish our country felt on 12/14 has receded. But not for us. To us, it feels as if it happened just yesterday. And in the four months since we lost our loved ones, thousands of other Americans have died at the end of a gun. Thousands of other families across the United States are also drowning in our grief.

Please help us do something before our tragedy becomes your tragedy.

Sometimes, I close my eyes and all I can remember is that awful day waiting at the Sandy Hook Volunteer Firehouse for the boy who would never come home – the same firehouse that was home to Ben’s Tiger Scout Den 6. But other times, I feel Ben’s presence filling me with courage for what I have to do – for him and all the others taken from us so violently and too soon.

We have to convince the Senate to come together and pass commonsense gun responsibility reforms that will make our communities safer and prevent more tragedies like the one we never thought would happen to us.

When I packed for Washington on Monday, it looked like the Senate might not act at all. Then, after the President spoke in Hartford, and a dozen of us met with Senators to share our stories, more than two-thirds of the Senate voted to move forward.

But that’s only the start. They haven’t yet passed any bills that will help keep guns out of

From: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/04/13/weekly-address-sandy-hook-victim-s-mother-calls-commonsense-gun-responsi

Articles of Interest

Newtown Mom Recalls 'Boy Who Would Never Come Home'

Leave a comment

By John Johnson Newtown mother Francine Wheeler delivered the president’s weekly radio address today to make an emotional plea for tougher gun laws, reports ABC News . Wheeler, who lost her 6-year-old son in the shooting, appeared with her husband, David. The Guardian has the full transcript. Some key spots: ”I’ve heard people say…

From: http://www.newser.com/story/166169/newtown-mom-recalls-boy-who-would-never-come-home.html

Articles of Interest

Newtown Mom to Give Obama's Weekly Address

Leave a comment

By John Johnson The president’s weekly radio address tomorrow will probably get more attention than usual, precisely because it won’t be the president delivering it. Instead, the mother of one of the young Newtown victims will fill in, reports USA Today . Francine Wheeler, whose 6-year-old son Ben was killed at Sandy Hook, will…

From: http://www.newser.com/story/166160/newtown-mom-to-give-obamas-weekly-address.html

News, Politics, Government

Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jay Carney, 4/12/2013

Leave a comment

By The White House

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

12:25 P.M. EDT

MR. CARNEY: Welcome, everyone. Happy Friday. The thunderstorms of the morning have given way to sunny skies — and augurs a beautiful weekend, I hope.

Q Very poetic.

MR. CARNEY: Before I take your questions, I wanted to let you know that as we continue to debate common-sense measures to reduce gun violence and save lives, one thing that has been very clear is that nobody has a more important or powerful perspective on the issue than the families who have lost loved ones because of the scourge of gun violence.

As you know, the President has been in regular contact this week with the families of victims of the 12/14 shootings, and he believes their voices and resolve have been critical to the continued progress we’ve seen in the Senate.

With that in mind, the President has asked Francine Wheeler — who lost her 6-year-old son, Ben, on that terrible day — to speak to the American people in this week’s Weekly Address.

With that, I will take your questions.

Q Was this the first time someone other than the President has done it — not just this President — in history? Is that your understanding?

MR. CARNEY: I can’t speak for previous administrations. It is the case that in this administration, the Vice President delivered the Weekly Address when I was working for him, but I don’t know about past administrations.

Jim.

Q Thank you, Jay. I wanted to ask about North Korea and developments that emerged after the briefing yesterday — reports that North Korea could have weapons capable of delivery by ballistic missiles, even though reports said the weapon itself might be unreliable. How much of a concern is this to the President? And given the unpredictable behavior by North Korea’s leader, even if weapons aren’t fully developed, is there a danger that this guy could actually act on something that’s not been tested?

MR. CARNEY: Well, first of all, I want to be clear that North Korea has not demonstrated the capability to deploy a nuclear-armed missile. The United States continues to closely monitor the North Korean nuclear program, and calls upon North Korea to honor its international obligations.

So I just want to be clear, out of — in response to your question, that it is our assessment that North Korea has not demonstrated the capability to deploy a nuclear-armed missile. To your broader question, we have responded to the series of provocative actions as well as the stepped-up bellicose rhetoric emanating from Pyongyang by taking a series of prudent measures to ensure that our homeland and our allies are defended. That includes steps to enhance our missile

From: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/04/12/press-briefing-press-secretary-jay-carney-4122013

News, Politics, Government

Remarks by the President on Reducing Gun Violence — Hartford, CT

Leave a comment

By The White House

University of Hartford
Hartford, Connecticut

5:45 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Hello, Connecticut. (Applause.) Thank you. Well, thank you so much, everybody. Let me begin by thanking Nicole, and Ian, for your brave words. (Applause.) I want to thank them and all the Newtown families who have come here today, including your First Selectman, Pat Llodra. (Applause.) Nobody could be more eloquent than Nicole and the other families on this issue. And we are so grateful for their courage and willingness to share their stories again and again, understanding that nothing is going to be more important in making sure the Congress moves forward this week than hearing from them.

I want to thank all the educators from Sandy Hook Elementary who have come here as well — (applause) — the survivors —

AUDIENCE MEMBERS: We love you, Obama!

THE PRESIDENT: I love you back. I do. (Applause.)

— the survivors who still mourn and grieve, but are still going to work every day to love and raise those precious children in their care as fiercely as ever.

I want to thank Governor Malloy for his leadership. (Applause.) Very proud of him. I want to thank the University of Hartford for hosting us this afternoon. (Applause.) Thank you, Hawks. (Applause.) And I want to thank the people of Connecticut for everything you’ve done to honor the memories of the victims — (applause) — because you’re part of their family as well.

One of your recent alumni, Rachel D’Avino, was a behavioral therapist at Sandy Hook. Two alumni of your performing arts school, Jimmy Greene and Nelba Marquez-Greene, lost their daughter, Ana — an incredible, vibrant young girl who looked up to them, and learned from them, and inherited their talents by singing before she could talk.

So every family in this state was shaken by the tragedy of that morning. Every family in this country was shaken. We hugged our kids more tightly. We asked what could we do, as a society, to help prevent a tragedy like that from happening again.

And as a society, we decided that we have to change. We must. We must change. (Applause.)

I noticed that Nicole and others refer to that day as “12/14.” For these families, it was a day that changed everything. And I know many of you in Newtown wondered if the rest of us would live up to the promise we made in those dark days — if we’d change, too; or if once the television trucks left, once the candles flickered out, once the teddy bears were carefully gathered up, that the country would somehow move on to other things.

Over the weekend, I heard Francine Wheeler, who lost her son Ben that day, say that the four months since the tragedy …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at The White House Press Office