We continue our reflection on God’s call to us through the ELCA’s “60-Day Journey Toward Justice in a Culture of Gun Violence.”
DAY 54: Gun Violence and Christian Witness
With the frequency of gun violence and mass public shootings and the waves of public grieving and outcry, what has kept us from making significant progress in preventing gun violence and saving human lives?
“How have we, as a country, continued to accept the unacceptable level of gun deaths, thereby working against our own self-interest? Consider the tremendous change we have seen around the issues of tobacco and drunk driving. In both cases, Americans have mobilized against well-funded corporate lobbies (tobacco and restaurant industries). Both efforts have utilized legislative and legal strategies. Both smoking and drunk driving have been framed as public health issues and have effected widespread cultural change. The result of this multifaceted strategy is that the political and public will have changed, and thousands of lives have been saved each year. Why have we not seen similar responses to gun violence?”
From “Gun Violence and Christian Witness,” by Katie Day, Journal of Lutheran Ethics, May 2014, Volume 14, Issue 5.