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A UMNS Report
By Wayne Rhodes*
6:00 P.M. Jan. 16, 2013 | WASHINGTON
Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington (at
podium) prays with other faith leaders during a news conference by
Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence at the United Methodist Building
in Washington. A UMNS photo by Michelle Whittaker, United Methodist
Board of Church and Society.
View in Photo Gallery
A coalition of faith leaders formed to support policies that reduce
death and injury from gun violence today commended President Obama and
the administration for the plan to reduce gun violence that was announced Jan. 16.
“We believe Congress has a moral imperative to enact the life-saving
measures proposed by the president and vice president,” said the
statement from Faiths United To Prevent Gun Violence, a coalition of more than 40 national faith denominations and groups representing tens of millions of Americans.
“By banning assault weapons and high-capacity gun magazines, this
plan will do much to keep these weapons of mass destruction out of the
wrong hands and prevent future tragedies like we saw last month in
Newtown, Conn.,” said Jim Winkler, chief executive of the United
Methodist Board of Church and Society and chair of the faith coalition.
“By making sure that every handgun purchaser must go through a
background check, even those purchasing guns at gun shows or in a
private sale, this proposal will do much to reduce the day-to-day
carnage that gun violence causes in our nation,” he added. “And the
proposal will do much to reduce the gun trafficking, which is a source
of much of our tragic urban gun violence, by imposing stiffer penalties
on this activity.”
Organization pledges support
Winkler also pledged the support of the organization to help garner
support for the proposals. “We at Faiths United To Prevent Gun Violence
will do all that we can to make sure that the faith community across
the country is mobilized in support of what the president and vice
president have proposed to save lives,” he said.
The president’s plan called upon Congress to require background
checks on anyone buying a gun, restrict ammunition magazines to no more
than 10 rounds and reinstate the assault weapons ban that expired in
2004.
Obama also signed 23 executive actions to strengthen background
checks and expand school safety programs. Bill Mefford, an executive
with the Board of Church and Society, was in the audience for the
signing.
On the anniversary of the birth of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., an interfaith gathering of national religious leaders had sent a letter to President Obama and Congress calling for urgent action to respond to the gun violence crisis in the United States.
The letter, signed by 47 national religious leaders representing
more than 80 million Americans, reflected diverse faith traditions
including Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Muslims and Sikhs.
Winkler and Harriett Jane Olson, chief executive of United Methodist Women, were among those who signed the letter.
Olson said members of United Methodist Women long have been
concerned about escalating gun violence, particularly in the United
States and authored the original resolution on the issue
that General Conference offered.
"We don't feel we are critiquing the (U.S.) Constitution or the
amendments," she said. "We think that appropriate regulation is what's
necessary to preserve freedom and not the absence of regulation."
She noted that churches have free exercise of religion, but that
doesn't prevent them from having to comply with local building codes.
"It's a similar thing," she said. "There is an appropriate role for
government in the freedoms that are carved out by the Constitution."
Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence was announced on Martin
Luther King Day, Jan. 17, 2011. It was then a coalition of 24
denominations and faith-based organizations announcing their support for
policies that reduce death and injury from gunfire. Two years later,
the coalition has grown to 40 groups representing tens of millions of
Americans in faith communities across the nation.
Many of the faith leaders who signed the letter participated in a
Jan. 15 news conference at the United Methodist Building in Washington
to announce their letter to Congress and President Obama. That news
conference was on the 84th anniversary of the birth of Dr. King, who
was assassinated, and one month and a day after a shooting in Newtown, Conn., that resulted in the deaths of 20 elementary schoolchildren, seven adults and the shooter.
Immediate action urged
The religious leaders urged the president and Congress to act immediately to accomplish the following:
- Every person who buys a gun should pass a criminal background check
- High-capacity weapons and ammunition magazines should not be available to civilians
- Gun trafficking should be a federal crime
Such actions are necessary, the faith leaders said during their news conference.
“This is not just good policy; it is a moral imperative,” said the
Rev. David Cooney, assistant to the bishop of the United Methodist
Baltimore-Washington Annual (regional) Conference. “We need strong
enforceable laws to reduce violence. We can take the better road.”
The Rev. J. Herbert Nelson, director of public witness for the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), said political leaders can resolve the
problem if they only have the will. "We are living in a society in
which gun violence is making everyone vulnerable to premature death,”
he said. “With over 30,000 gun deaths a year in the United States,
it is time that faith leaders and others call elected officials to
committed action so that gun laws are stiffened and lives are
saved.”
Sister Carol Keehan D.C., president and CEO of the Catholic Health
Association of the USA, emphasized that banning assault weapons and
requiring universal background checks are common-sense measures. She
pointed out that members of the association’s hospitals see the results
of gun violence every day in their emergency rooms.
“Sadly, gun violence is too routine,” Keehan said, stressing there is no valid use for assault weapons off the battlefield.
The Rev. Jim Wallis, the evangelical who heads the progressive
Christian group Sojourners, took strong issue with recent comments by
Wayne LaPierre, the outspoken executive vice president of the National
Rifle Association. Wallis called LaPierre’s statement after Newtown
that “the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with
a gun” “morally mistaken” and “religiously repugnant.”
Eighty percent of the NRA’s funding comes from gun manufacturers,
Wallis said. “That makes it a lobbyist for gun manufacturers,” he
pointed out.
Sayyid Syeed, national director for Interfaith & Community
Alliances of the Islamic Society of North America, cited the Muslims’
sacred text, the Qu’ran. He said the text states, “If you kill one
person, it is as if you are killing all persons.”
Rachel Laser, deputy director of the Religious Action Center of
Reform Judaism, decried the injustices of the U.S. system in which a gun
can be sold legally without a background check to a person who
otherwise would fail one, and those suffering from mental illness
cannot access the resources they need.
Faith communities asked to contact Congress
Laser announced that as part of this effort, faith communities
across the country are being asked to join in contacting members of
Congress on Monday, Feb. 4, to demand comprehensive gun-violence
prevention measures. Such measures would include banning assault
weapons, requiring universal background checks, providing financial
support for mental health services and instituting policies that
address our country's culture of violence such as school safety and
anti-bullying legislation. She said the Interfaith Call to Prevent Gun
Violence would ensure that elected officials are held accountable for
the safety of communities.
Vincent DeMarco, national coordinator of Faiths United to Prevent
Gun Violence, said the faith leaders essentially are delivering three
messages on preventing gun violence: It is a moral issue. Laws work.
There is power behind the fact that the 47 faith leaders represent more
than 80 million Americans.
“Nothing we do will interfere with hunters’ rights to have a gun,” DeMarco stressed.
*Rhodes is communications director of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society.
News media contact: Tim Tanton, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.