President Obama Quotes Jesus in Speech for Gun Control

Carrie Dedrick | Updated: Jan 06, 2016

President Obama Quotes Jesus in Speech for Gun Control

President Obama quoted Jesus in a speech proposing tighter gun control measures. Christian Today reports that the President delivered an emotional speech explaining the harm of gun violence in the United States. 

Addressing the Sandy Hook primary school shooting that killed 20 children and six adults in December 2012, Obama said, "Every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad.” 

"That changed me, that day," he continued. “My hope earnestly has been that it would change the country."

Obama went on to talk about the death of 15-year-old Zaevion Dobson, who was killed last December while protecting three girls from gunfire. 

"He gave his life to save theirs, an act of heroism a lot bigger than anything we should ever expect from a 15-year-old,” the President said. Then quoting Jesus, he continued, “'Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.'"

"Each time this comes up we are fed the excuse that common-sense reforms like background checks might not have stopped the last massacre, or the one before that, or the one before that, so why bother trying. I reject that thinking. We know we can't stop every act of violence, every act of evil in the world. But maybe we could try to stop one act of evil, one act of violence,” Obama said. 

The speech pushed for background checks for gun sellers, and extended rights of FBI agents to carry them out. Other proposed measures included a state requirement to provide information on people with histories of mental illness or domestic violence and a request for $500 million from Congress to improve mental healthcare in the U.S. 

Publication date: January 6, 2015



President Obama Quotes Jesus in Speech for Gun Control