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| Oregon shootings: the gun-toting sheriff at odds with Obama | Oregon shootings: the gun-toting sheriff at odds with Obama |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The Douglas County sheriff, John Hanlin, became the public face of the aftermath of the latest mass shooting in America, which left 10 people dead at an Oregon college. | |
| But for those advocating gun control in the US, the proudly gun-toting sheriff also represents the country’s “problem” with gun laws, as Barack Obama put it in the wake of the Oregon killings. | But for those advocating gun control in the US, the proudly gun-toting sheriff also represents the country’s “problem” with gun laws, as Barack Obama put it in the wake of the Oregon killings. |
| The thick-set, crew-cut sheriff faced the media to confirm the killings at the Umpqua community college campus in Roseburg. But he refused to identify the shooter, named elsewhere as Chris Harper Mercer. | The thick-set, crew-cut sheriff faced the media to confirm the killings at the Umpqua community college campus in Roseburg. But he refused to identify the shooter, named elsewhere as Chris Harper Mercer. |
| “I will not give him the credit he probably sought with this horrific and cowardly act,” said Hanlin. “You will never hear me mention his name.” This approach heeds the advice of forensic psychiatrists including Dr Park Dietz, who has repeatedly warned the media and authorities against glorifying mass murderers. | “I will not give him the credit he probably sought with this horrific and cowardly act,” said Hanlin. “You will never hear me mention his name.” This approach heeds the advice of forensic psychiatrists including Dr Park Dietz, who has repeatedly warned the media and authorities against glorifying mass murderers. |
| Hanlin’s refusal to name the killer may win admiration, but his attitude to guns has prompted alarm. In his response to the killings, Obama urged individuals to lobby the authorities to implement “commonsense gun laws”. Sheriff Hanlin has done the opposite by lobbying the president, and others, against restrictions on gun ownership. | Hanlin’s refusal to name the killer may win admiration, but his attitude to guns has prompted alarm. In his response to the killings, Obama urged individuals to lobby the authorities to implement “commonsense gun laws”. Sheriff Hanlin has done the opposite by lobbying the president, and others, against restrictions on gun ownership. |
| A letter by Hanlin, published by Mother Jones in January 2013, showed that Hanlin wrote to the vice-president, Joe Biden, describing gun control as an “indisputable insult to the American people”. The letter was a response to failed White House push for stricter gun control after the Sandy Hook school shootings in Newton, Connecticut, in December 2012. | A letter by Hanlin, published by Mother Jones in January 2013, showed that Hanlin wrote to the vice-president, Joe Biden, describing gun control as an “indisputable insult to the American people”. The letter was a response to failed White House push for stricter gun control after the Sandy Hook school shootings in Newton, Connecticut, in December 2012. |
| Hanlin was also one of hundreds of sheriffs to offer support to the constitutional sheriffs and peace officers association (CSPOA), an organisation founded by a former Arizona sheriff that describes its “last line of defence” against “unconstitutional gun control measures”. | Hanlin was also one of hundreds of sheriffs to offer support to the constitutional sheriffs and peace officers association (CSPOA), an organisation founded by a former Arizona sheriff that describes its “last line of defence” against “unconstitutional gun control measures”. |
| He also backed a petition to the White House in December 2012 urging Obama to “stand with law-abiding gun owners in this time of tragedy”. It added: “Please don’t pander to the politics, Mr President. A feeding frenzy of new gun legislation is not the answer.” | He also backed a petition to the White House in December 2012 urging Obama to “stand with law-abiding gun owners in this time of tragedy”. It added: “Please don’t pander to the politics, Mr President. A feeding frenzy of new gun legislation is not the answer.” |
| Obama anticipated a similar response to his latest call for gun control. After the Oregon shootings, the president said: “Somebody, somewhere will comment and say, Obama politicised this issue. Well, this is something we should politicise. | Obama anticipated a similar response to his latest call for gun control. After the Oregon shootings, the president said: “Somebody, somewhere will comment and say, Obama politicised this issue. Well, this is something we should politicise. |
| “We spend over a trillion dollars, and pass countless laws, and devote entire agencies to preventing terrorist attacks on our soil, and rightfully so. And yet, we have a Congress that explicitly blocks us from even collecting data on how we could potentially reduce gun deaths. How can that be?” | “We spend over a trillion dollars, and pass countless laws, and devote entire agencies to preventing terrorist attacks on our soil, and rightfully so. And yet, we have a Congress that explicitly blocks us from even collecting data on how we could potentially reduce gun deaths. How can that be?” |
| Hanlin, who has worked in the Douglas County sheriff’s office for 25 years, is in his second term as sheriff after first being elected to the role in 2009. | Hanlin, who has worked in the Douglas County sheriff’s office for 25 years, is in his second term as sheriff after first being elected to the role in 2009. |
| His Facebook page is littered with posts bemoaning “liberal America” and expressing support for the US’s powerful gun lobby. He shared a gun lobby post by former Republican presidential hopeful Sarah Palin showing a painting of the early founders of America with a caption that reads: “Remember when the colonists stood in line to register in their muskets? Me either.” | |
| Hanlin, whose hobbies include hunting, fishing and riding his Harley Davidson, grew up in the Roseburg area and attended the Umpqua Community College in the early 1980s, according to the news site Heavy. | Hanlin, whose hobbies include hunting, fishing and riding his Harley Davidson, grew up in the Roseburg area and attended the Umpqua Community College in the early 1980s, according to the news site Heavy. |
| Hanlin broke the news of the shootings with this statement to the press: “Obviously today here in southern Oregon it has not been a good afternoon, it has been a terrible day.” On this, at least, he and Obama would agree. | Hanlin broke the news of the shootings with this statement to the press: “Obviously today here in southern Oregon it has not been a good afternoon, it has been a terrible day.” On this, at least, he and Obama would agree. |