Guns don’t kill people?
Trigger Warning - A post about guns and all the atrocities they perpetrate.
“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
~ The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
I am not here to debate the legal interpretation of the Second Amendment. I am not a lawyer and don't have the legal depth to do so. Though as a citizen, I have the right to exercise the First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." (emphasis mine)
I think a lot about guns because so many people in our society are obsessed with them. They are glorified in music and fought over in the halls of Congress. My thinking and my work led me to this conclusion; guns are the resources of war, not toys for leisure. Many will disagree with me, and that's okay. This blog aims to clarify my voice, and I've learned through hard lessons that you can't please everybody. As a believer, I am encouraged to speak the truth in love; some will say this is my truth, not the truth. So in the words of my generation, I'm going to "talk my stuff" and "speak my truth."
I speak from the perspective of a civically engaged citizen, a community leader, an organization leader, a husband, a father, a son, a brother, a friend, and a former pastor. Guns have done much damage to my people and community and caused great harm to our nation. More Americans have been killed by gun-related incidents since 1968 than in all the wars America has fought.1
2020 saw a resurgence of gun-related deaths. “Nearly eight-in-ten (79%) U.S. murders in 2020 – 19,384 out of 24,576 – involved a firearm. That marked the highest percentage since at least 1968, the earliest year for which the CDC has online records.”2 With the recent string of high-profile gun-related incidents, I thought it important to wrestle with our obsession with guns and share a few thoughts and resources for those who are concerned about preserving human life.
According to a study done by PBS on the history of guns, the first firearm was used as early as 1364. These weapons were slow, volatile, and inaccurate. Over the years, guns became more numerous and more precise through new innovations like the rifling principle, discovered in 1498 and first used in 1540. Guns and other advanced weaponry were tools used by European nations to advance their agendas on the rest of the world. This advanced weaponry subjugated nations, tribes, and people groups and spread evils like the Doctrine of Discovery, the Doctrine of Slavery, and many other forms of oppression. What I’ve learned through my research is that Christianity is complicit in the spread of many evils across the world. I admit this fact as a Christian. I’m owning the truth. The church, throughout history, has often collaborated with the State to protect its interest. One of the best historical examples of this is Pope Alexander VI. Demarcation Bull Granting Spain Possession of Lands Discovered by Columbus. This Papal Bull was issued May 4, 1493, in Rome as an official decree of the church said, “land not inhabited by Christians was available to be "discovered," claimed, and exploited by Christian rulers and declared that ‘the Catholic faith and the Christian religion be exalted and be everywhere increased and spread, that the health of souls be cared for and that barbarous nations be overthrown and brought to the faith itself.’”3
Unfortunately, as believers, our interests have not always aligned with our values. Too often, producing vicious hypocrisy and a lack of concern for those we deem other than. The people who fight against abortion and human trafficking fight for the proliferation of guns and vice versa. This is an oversimplification, but we are all clamoring for our own rights and freedoms with little thought of our neighbor and how best to truly love them to a flourishing life.
I understand that these issues are complex, but they are not isolated. This issue is not a White America or a Black America problem; it’s an American problem. America is the only nation in the world with more guns than people. “In 2017, U.S. civilians held an average of 120.5 firearms per 100 people, the highest rate in the world by a factor of more than two, followed by Yemen (52.8), Montenegro (39.1), Serbia (39.1) and Uruguay (34.7).”4 These tools of The Empire and Impirical rule have become so advanced and so common that we now regularly use them to exercise our will and dominion over one another. The proliferation of guns and advanced weaponry should be a cause for concern to every person in general and the Chrisitan specifically. Jesus teaches us to “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” We must ask ourselves a difficult question: “Can we love our neighbor and love the things that cause them so much harm?” Jesus also teaches us to love our enemies.
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matthew 5:43-45, NKJV)
Hatred leads to annihilation. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. taught that“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” My heart breaks because far too many of our beloved brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters are perishing at the hands of guns used in fear and hatred. Too many names are etched in the stone too soon because of gun violence. Too many communities devastated. Too many families broken.
So where do we go from here? Good question. I will address possible next steps in a later post, but for now, sit with this post for a while.
Join the conversation by leaving a comment.
More Americans Killed by Guns Since 1968 Than in All U.S. Wars — Combined, Chelsea Bailey, Oct. 4, 20217. https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/las-vegas-shooting/more-americans-killed-guns-1968-all-u-s-wars-combined-n807156
What the data says about gun deaths in the U.S., JOHN GRAMLICH, February 4, 2022. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/02/03/what-the-data-says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-u-s/
The Doctrine of Discovery, 1493: A Spotlight on a Primary Source by Pope Alexander VI. Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/spotlight-primary-source/doctrine-discovery-1493
U.S. Remains an Outlier in Firearm Possession, Gun-Related Deaths. Chris Gilligan, Jan. 30, 2023. https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2023-01-30/how-the-u-s-compares-to-the-world-on-guns