Would Jesus Tolerate Assault Weapons?

On Wednesday, New Yorkers awoke to news that our state assembly had swiftly passed the most stringent gun control legislation in the country.  The bill has already been signed by the governor.  It’s law.  I wouldn’t be surprised if, in the future, we find that the legislation needs to be tweaked in order to accomplish its purpose.  But state lawmakers were responding to public pressure to do something, preferably something bold, in the wake of recent gun tragedies in New York and Connecticut.

Later that same day, President Obama unveiled proposals for federal gun control regulation.  Though he was responding to public outcry for stricter background checks and a ban on assault weapons, he met with angry opposition even before his announcement.  Across the country, local law enforcement officials were signaling their refusal to abide by federal gun control laws.  Proposed bills in Wyoming and Tennessee would make enforcement of any federal gun regulations a state felony.  One U.S. Congressman has said he would introduce legislation making it illegal for states to cooperate with a federal gun ban, and another Congressman has announced that he would seek Obama’s impeachment if the President used executive power to strengthen regulation of gun ownership.  The National Rifle Association, which seems to have morphed from an organization of gun enthusiasts to a lobby for gun manufacturers, has denounced any government effort to curtail gun violence, arguing instead that we need more guns, not less.  And survivalists like conservative radio talk show host Alex Jones are promising outright rebellion.  Jones and others of his ilk argue that the Second Amendment guarantees the right of private citizens to stockpile military-style weapons so they can defend themselves against the U.S. government.

No public official is proposing the repeal of the Second Amendment, so there is no debate about Americans’ right to “keep and bear arms.”  But there is literally no such thing as an unrestricted right.  Free speech is curtailed by laws prohibiting slander, liable, perjury. and hate speech.  The right to privacy doesn’t mean you can do anything you want so long as you do it at home.  Otherwise, domestic violence wouldn’t be a crime.  Similarly, the right to own a gun is subject to restrictions that, in the long run, protect that right rather than threaten it.  Even the most conservative jurist on the Supreme Court, Antonin Scalia, has stated that, while the Second Amendment guarantees the right of gun ownership, it does not guarantee the right to own any gun. 

Most Americans understand this.  Four separate national polls show that, by wide margins, Americans (including most gun-owners) support banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, as well as closing the “gun-show loophole” on background checks.   And yet, an extremist anti-regulation minority appears to have enough political clout to prevent meaningful legislation from getting through Congress.

It doesn’t surprise me that some gun enthusiasts become gun fanatics.  Nor does it surprise me that ultra-right-wing survivalists twist the Constitution to serve their paranoid view of the world.  What surprises and – I admit – infuriates me, is that so many of the folks who resist any attempt to restrict the use of firearms for any reason also like to tout their Christian faith.  How do you reconcile following Christ with defending the right of private citizens to own and use weapons built for military combat?  Jesus wouldn’t even let his disciples draw swords to defend themselves.  He deplored violence for any reason, to the chagrin of some of his most ardent supporters.   Since Jesus banned swords, it’s hard to see how he would ever tolerate Bushmasters or AR-15s.

I can hear the retort: “Politicians are not elected to promote Christianity, but to uphold the Constitution!”  I agree.  But the most stubborn opponents of any sort of gun legislation are not only defending the Second Amendment.  They are using the cover of the Constitution to protect a sub-culture of violence.  And besides, if politicians appeal to the separation of church and state on this issue, then they should be prepared to do the same when it comes to abortion, birth control, same-sex-marriage, and organized prayer in the public schools, or else be guilty of rank hypocrisy.

Tragically, the Newtown massacre was not a just a warning.  It was a tipping point.  Our recent history has been riddled with mass shootings at shopping malls, movie theatres, political rallies, churches, and schools.  And now, the public is rising up to say, “Enough.”  For too long, we have dithered on this subject and caved to the demands of the most extreme advocates of Second Amendment rights.  It’s time to do something.  No single initiative will solve the problem of gun violence, which is multi-dimensional.  As a society, we do a poor job of providing care to those suffering mental illness.  We also glorify violence in popular music, movies, and video games.  Gun control alone will not end the threat of more mass shootings, but it is one necessary component in a comprehensive effort to address the problem.  It is revealing that the loudest gun-rights advocates insist that regulation of firearms is the only strategy we cannot employ, as though access to guns – any kind of guns – is more sacrosanct than any other right.  

All this leads me to the inevitable and troubling conclusion that a powerful minority in this country places guns ahead of both God and country.  If this minority manages to block passage of any new federal gun regulations, I don’t see how the United States can be considered, in any sense, a “Christian” nation.  A nation that places the right of its citizens to carry military-style assault weapons ahead of an earnest effort to curtail violence is hardly hospitable to the Prince of Peace.

Copyright 2013 by J. Mark Lawson

Comments

[Bill Hubert]

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