The Gun Control Debate

I’m becoming increasingly concerned about the rhetoric around the gun control debate. The loudest voices seem to promote one of two extremes.

1.  Guns don’t kill people.  People kill people.  Guns have nothing to do with it.  We need “people control” not gun control.  So, parents! Shape up and do a better job raising your kids!  Oh yeah, those who want gun legislation are part of a conspiracy to take away your second amendment rights. 

2.  Guns are extremely dangerous.  If we could get rid of them, or at least get rid of the ones that are the deadliest, our kids could go to school without fear of getting shot.  So, congress! Pass reasonable gun legislation and all will be right with the world.  Oh yeah, the NRA is evil. 

I don’t consider myself an authority on gun control, but I do think of myself as somewhat knowledgeable about human nature in light of the scriptures.  So, I would like to address my friends from both camps.   

First, to my anti-gun-control friends; I agree with your basic argument.  The teachings of Jesus, along with the rest of the Bible, lead us to the understanding that evil (sin) is a problem that begins in the human heart. 

Jesus said things like, “You have heard that it was said to people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgement.’  But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to the judgement.”

Clearly, Jesus understood that human evil is not external to the heart but originates in it.  That’s why anger is so dangerous.  It’s the internal condition that, when left unchecked, metastasizes and grows until it expresses itself externally, most of the time in some destructive way. 

This understanding of anger and violence can be seen in the ancient Hebrew story of Cain and Able, the sons of Adam and Eve.  Cain was angry with his brother Able.  God saw the danger of Cain’s anger and counseled him to “master it.”  Cain, however, ignored the warning and finally killed Able.  By the way, the story doesn’t even include a description of the weapon Cain used.  That part seems to be irrelevant to the point of the story.

So apparently, according to the Bible, weapon control is all about self-control.  It’s not about the weapon(s).

Secondly, to my pro-gun-control friends: I agree with your basic argument.  Guns are extremely dangerous and some form of reasonable restriction seems prudent and, in my opinion, consistent with the heart of Jesus.

The gospel writers record a scene in which Jesus takes a child in his arms and tells the disciples that it would be better for a person to have a millstone hung around his neck and thrown into the sea than cause a little one to stumble.  He goes on to tell them that if their hand causes them to stumble, they should cut it off.  Of course, Jesus didn’t intend for people to literally dismember themselves.  But he did seem to indicate that if there’s something we can do (even something drastic) to protect children, we should do it.

So, maybe we should be more careful about our children’s exposure to violence on TV and in video games.  Maybe we should be more proactive about school campus security.  Maybe we should provide more intervention measures for troubled young people. 

And maybe we should pass legislation that makes it hard for a teenager to get an assault rifle.  Maybe we should pass legislation that makes it hard for anybody to get an assault rifle. 

I know the argument that says, “If you outlaw assault rifles, then only the bad guys will have them.”  But, of course, we don’t use that argument for something like underage drinking or texting while driving.  We don’t say, “If you make it illegal for kids under 21 to drink, then only the bad kids will get beer.”  We don’t say, “If you make texting while driving illegal, then only the rebellious kids will do it.”  No! we pass laws intended to protect our kids and then enforce them the best we can.  So maybe we should do the same thing with gun control legislation.

The question is, will we come together, ignore the rhetoric of the extremes, ignore those who use fear to motivate, and do what we can to save human beings.

A prayer, taken from The Book of Common Prayer, seems appropriate.

“Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human heart [and especially the hearts of the people of this land], that barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen”