Michelle Obama will visit Sikh temple to meet with victims’ families
First lady Michelle Obama speaks during a luncheon in the East Room of the White House, on July 13, 2012 in Washington, DC. On Thursday, Obama will visit the Sikh temple where a shooting left 6 people dead earlier this month.
Michelle Obama will visit the Sikh Temple in Milwaukee on Thursday to meet with the families of the victims of the shooting there earlier this month.
The White House has said that Obama's visit is part of the administration's outreach to the Sikh community after the August 5th massacre which claimed six lives, the Associated Press reported.
Wade Michael Page, an Army veteran who has been linked to white supremacy groups, shot temple goers and a police officer during Sunday evening services before killing himself.
President Barack Obama has called for an end to "senseless violence" following the Sikh temple shooting as well as the Aurora, Colorado violence which claimed 12 lives, Reuters reported. However, he has not taken a strong stance on gun control, ahead of the election November 6th.
More from GlobalPost: Sikh temple shooter was observed by federal investigators
Some of the victims' family members had complained that the President and GOP candidate Mitt Romney did not reach out to the community immediately after the shooting, Politicker reported last week.
“If this was a Christian church and it was a Sikh shooter, I’m pretty sure we’d have a different response if the same exact situation happened,” Amardeep Kaleka, whose father was killed at Oak Creek, told Politicker. “That’s pretty sad, because we’d have undeniable recourse and actions from the government, or at least a show of support."
Sikh organization United Sikhs issued a statement in light of Obama's planned visit.
"We call upon everyone to keep the victims who lost their lives and the ones still recovering from this incident in their daily prayers," they wrote. "We would also like to thank the White House for taking the historic decision of having the First Lady visit the affected families and stand in solidarity with the community."
More from GlobalPost: Sikh temple shooting: Wisconsin temple holds first Sunday service since attack
The story you just read is available for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
Make a gift today, and you’ll get us one step closer to our goal of raising $25,000 by June 14. We need your help now more than ever!