Stop gun violence

Nothing could be more timely, or more in the spirit of an Easter faith than the Moderator’s and Stated Clerk’s March 24th letter to the denomination. They deplore the gun violence in this country and its tragic toll in human lives (28,000-35,000 deaths per year since the 1960s). They call attention to the federal ban on assault weapons that will expire this September on the watch of an apathetic, fearful Congress. Since Congress is not expected to act, those million moms, bless their hearts, are on the march again, on Mother’s Day in our nation’s capital.

This is the sort of leadership to applaud from Susan Andrews and Cliff Kirkpatrick. As leaders of a theologically Reformed denomination, they make the case for strong governance that for four centuries has been the hallmark of anti-libertarian Calvinists, a call that begins with God’s own concern, voiced timelessly through Moses and the prophets, that the ruler must first of all, protect the weak and defenseless.

This was brought home in Richmond recently when, following a PTA meeting, a mother in a van with her children drove into a convenience store parking lot. She was there to wait for her mother, washing the family clothing in a laundromat next door to the store. Soon after driving in, she noticed two young men, one with an AK-47 and the other brandishing a pistol.

Sensing danger and afraid of a shootout, she began to plead that they not open fire until she drove away. Either they did not hear or refused to listen. One of the bullets that sprayed the van went though the neck of her six-year-old daughter. The girl almost died, but it was reported today that she has — miraculously — begun to speak again.

This incident cries to heaven for justice, compassion and order. Congress should act to extend the federal ban on assault weapons and strengthen the law. Take them out of the hands of citizens. Make it a serious crime to possess one. Citizens do not need assault weapons. As Andrews and Kirkpatrick make clear, this bill does not prevent anyone owning a pistol, a rifle or a shotgun for hunting or protection of their home.

Challenged by church leadership, all Presbyterian members of Congress should lay claim in this lawless age to their Reformed heritage. U. S. Senators Bill Frist and Lamar Alexander, who belong to the same Nashville congregation, might themselves exercise moral leadership in the U. S. Senate by working to extend the assault weapon ban. As a doctor, Senator Frist may have a special interest in these matters. He must know what doctors tell me are the consequences of the profligate ownership and use of these weapons. Those who work in emergency rooms document the enormous cost to taxpayers from the treatment of those wounded and murdered in our cities. This is not a Richmond problem to be fixed, but a shameful tragedy for this nation.

In addition to whatever political activity is undertaken to secure the ban, all of us, in every church across this land can pray, fervently, publicly for God to lift this nation out of violence. Years ago our congregation took a public stand against the proliferation of handguns, and supported legislation — sponsored by the first African-American governor in the United States — which limits handgun purchase to no more than 13 per year (labeled the “gun-a-month club bill”). So we are accustomed to much praying, and crying out to God to make a difference. How about this prayer for a start:

Prosper the Faith leaders Summit [a Richmond effort linking police, suburban, and inner city churches to turn the tide against murder, violence, and drug dealing in Richmond’s most dangerous neighborhoods.] O Lord. Strengthen all who seek, work, and pray for an end to violence, and to the proliferation of guns and drugs in our city and suburbs.

As we have pled with you in the past, O God, we plead once more: destroy the enterprises of all who profit from degrading children and youth through the sale of drugs and guns, of violent, explicit images on film and in music and video games. Wipe out the profits of those who sell assault weapons. Eradicate these enterprises, before they destroy us all. And let our cry come unto Thee.

Or this, in a pastoral prayer after a baptism:

We lift to your throne of grace all the children in the world,
in this nation, and in this city:
who are buffeted about by war and abuse;
who witness murder and drug deals on the streets where they live;
who sometimes successfully dodge bullets;
who become murderers before they can drive a car;
who are reared by television;
who delight in violent video games;
and who have everything their hearts desire,
yet nothing that points the way to You, O Lord.
Let our care, love and protection of this beloved child, received into your church through baptism, extend into our city for the good health and safety of all children.

O. Benjamin Sparks is interim editor of The Outlook and pastor, Second church, Richmond, Va.