Beyond Gun Control
July-August 2013
Michael couldn’t wait to tell his second-grade friend what had happened to him. “A policeman pointed a gun at my head this morning!” Michael’s friend was scared, so he told the teacher, who told the principal, who called Michael’s parents. His parents explained that their home had been raided at 6:00 am by federal agents, guns drawn. One had pointed a gun at Michael. An uncle living with the family had been arrested and charged with illegal sale of semiautomatic weapons.
In 1978, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops called for gun control in their document Community and Crime: A Statement of the Committee on Social Development and World Peace. Their 2000 document Responsibility, Rehabilitation, and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice reiterated their support for legislative efforts to protect society from the violence associated with easy access to deadly weapons. And this past January, the bishops affirmed their hope that any government action on gun-violence prevention would lead to greater respect for human life.