By Julie Pace
CHARLESTON, S.C. — For President Barack Obama, (click here) it's become an all-too-frequent ritual: honoring the victims of mass shootings in communities across the country.
On Friday, Obama will mourn with the city of Charleston, South Carolina, where nine people were killed last week at a historic black church. He'll deliver a eulogy at the funeral for Rev. Clementa Pinckney, a state lawmaker and pastor of Emanuel African Methodist Church.
The deaths of Pinckney and eight others have sparked a debate in Southern states over the Confederate battle flag, which for years has flown at a monument on the grounds of the South Carolina statehouse. But the slayings have also exposed the scant appetite in Washington for restarting discussions on gun control legislation, which have made no progress during Obama's presidency.
White House officials indicated the president's remarks would focus more on the victims of last week's shootings and celebrating their lives than on those delicate political issues.
But White House spokesman Eric Schultz added: "It's hard to have an extensive conversation about the tragic shooting in South Carolina without mentioning some of the social issues we've been talking about over the past week."...
