PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA SET TO VISIT COLORADO SHOOTING VICTIMS AND FAMILY TODAY

President Barack Obama
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Today, sunday 22nd day of july, 2012, President barack Obama will fly to Colorado to visit with the families of victims from the Aurora movie theater shooting, the White House announced, as he and Mitt Romney dialed back their campaigning in the shocked aftermath of the massacre.

Dan Pfeiffer White House communications director  disclosed plans for the visit Saturday night.

Friday's deadly rampage briefly silenced the acrimonious presidential contest, with both campaigns cutting short schedules and pulling advertising in Colorado out of respect for the dead and injured.

But for Obama, the pause was to be short-lived. After his Colorado visit, he was to fly Reno, Nev., for a Monday speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, followed by a series of campaign fundraisers in California, Oregon and Washington state. Romney is also expected to speak to the Veterans of Foreign Wars on Tuesday.

Obama said Saturday in his weekly radio and Internet address that he hopes everyone takes time this weekend "for prayer and reflection — for the victims of this terrible tragedy, for the people who knew them and loved them, for those who are still struggling to recover."

The president said Americans should also think about "all the victims of the less publicized acts of violence that plague our communities on a daily basis. Let us keep all these Americans in our prayers."

Obama and Romney used campaign appearances on Friday to focus attention on the need for national unity in the aftermath of the shooting in Aurora, which killed 12 people and wounded dozens of others. Their campaign teams rescheduled Sunday show appearances by top aides and surrogates, essentially providing a break in what has been an increasingly testy campaign.

Obama told supporters in Fort Myers that, 

"Our time here is limited and it is precious. And what matters at the end of the day is not the small things, it's not the trivial things," he said. "Ultimately, it's how we choose to treat one another and how we love one another."

Romney echoed Obama's call for unity, saying at a previously scheduled event in Bow, that,

"The answer is that we can come together. We will show our fellow citizens the good heart of the America we know and love," Romney said.

Yet, beyond the calls for a higher purpose, the shooting could raise the profile of gun rights in the presidential campaign, an issue which has played a minor role so far.

As a senator Obama voted to leave gun makers and dealers open to civil lawsuits, and as an Illinois state lawmaker he supported a ban on all forms of semiautomatic weapons and tighter state restrictions generally on firearms.

"The president believes that we need to take common-sense measures that protect Second Amendment rights of Americans, while ensuring that those who should not have guns under existing law do not get them," said White House press secretary Jay Carney.

Romney backed some gun control measures when he was governor of Massachusetts. When he challenged Sen. Edward M. Kennedy in 1994 he declared, "I don't line up with the NRA." In April, Romney told the National Rifle Association he was a guardian of the Second Amendment.

We'll keep you posted as events unfold.