At the same time, she condemned the conditions that, she said, create an environment for gun violence to fester. The nation has an obligation, the first lady said, to provide answers to the problem of violence that has become too widespread.
“Thousands of children in this city live in neighborhoods where a funeral for a teenager is considered unfortunate, but not unusual…where wandering onto the wrong block or even just standing on your own front porch can mean putting yourself at risk,” she said.
Obama spoke at an event sponsored by the Chicago Public Safety Action Committee. The event also included Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who spoke of the need to invest more in youth programs.
In her remarks, the first lady made repeated references to the life of Hadiya Pendleton, the 15-year-old Chicago honors student who performed with a marching band at the Obama inauguration festivities and was shot to death the following week.