President Obama: 'These tragedies must end. And to end them, we must change.'

President Obama Sunday night at the prayer vigil for the victims of Friday's mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut:

Although the president didn't directly mention gun control or guns themselves, his speech (full transcript) last night was not merely a eulogy or an expression of grief'it also represented a commitment to do something to stop the senseless violence of deadly shootings in America.

Since I've been President, this is the fourth time we have come together to comfort a grieving community torn apart by a mass shooting. The fourth time we've hugged survivors. The fourth time we've consoled the families of victims. And in between, there have been an endless series of deadly shootings across the country, almost daily reports of victims, many of them children, in small towns and big cities all across America -- victims whose -- much of the time, their only fault was being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

We can't tolerate this anymore. These tragedies must end. And to end them, we must change. We will be told that the causes of such violence are complex, and that is true. No single law -- no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world, or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society.

But that can't be an excuse for inaction. Surely, we can do better than this. If there is even one step we can take to save another child, or another parent, or another town, from the grief that has visited Tucson, and Aurora, and Oak Creek, and Newtown, and communities from Columbine to Blacksburg before that -- then surely we have an obligation to try.

In the coming weeks, I will use whatever power this office holds to engage my fellow citizens -- from law enforcement to mental health professionals to parents and educators -- in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this. Because what choice do we have? We can't accept events like this as routine. Are we really prepared to say that we're powerless in the face of such carnage, that the politics are too hard? Are we prepared to say that such violence visited on our children year after year after year is somehow the price of our freedom?

As the president said, this is the fourth time he has had to deliver a speech such as this after a mass shooting. And every day, innocent children and victims are killed throughout this country. But this is the first time he has been so forceful in calling for change in response to such violence.

"For those of who remain," the president said, "let us find the strength to carry on, and make our country worthy of their memory." As a nation, that is a conversation that we must have.

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