Terrorism, Gun Control, and A Christian Response

In the wake of recent terrorist attacks I find I’m thinking more and more about the gun control issue.  For whatever it’s worth, my two cents to follow.

I’m wondering why politicians always seem to make a big deal out of gun control after a mass shooting.  I know as some of you read that you’re thinking “if a politician is for more gun control isn’t that the exact time they should bring it up?”  Yes, I suppose so but here’s what I’m getting at.  I agree that we have a gun violence issue in our country, but I also believe mass shootings are not our biggest concern when it comes to gun violence.  They make up a minute fraction of overall gun deaths; less than a tenth of one percent to be exact.  By comparison its estimated gang related gun deaths make up around 80%.  Eighty percent!  Maybe our focus should be more about what we can do to get guns off our city streets.  Maybe it would be helpful to see politicians speaking up about this issue a bit more and proposing stricter legislation around hand guns.  I came across another interesting statistic the other day.  When you look at mass shooting deaths per one million, America ranks 9^th behind many countries with stricter gun control laws than ours.  I’m not saying we shouldn’t find ways to try and reduce mass shootings, I guess I’m just saying there doesn’t seem to be a direct correlation between gun control and gun deaths.  There are many other variables to consider.

More importantly, I’m thinking a lot lately about what the Christian stance should be.  To profess to being a Christian is to profess to being a follower of Jesus Christ.  So would Jesus be in favor of more gun control?  Would he want to ban all fire arms and do away with the second amendment all together?  Personally I have a hard time saying yes to those questions but here’s what I do know; Jesus is always about life.  He came that we might have life and life to the full (John 10:10).  Jesus sees value and dignity in all people.  Poor people, rich people, Republicans, Democrats, old people, unborn people; everyone! We can also safely say he was against violence in general in his command to turn the other cheek and when he told Peter to put away his sword.  For me personally, when I think of these things it’s one of the reasons why I have no real desire to own a gun.  Don’t miss me on this.  I’m still in favor of the second amendment, and if I ever find myself staring down the barrel of someone else’s gun I’m hopeful there will be a third party somewhere nearby ready to exercise his right to bear arms on my behalf.  But should I not be so lucky, I’m okay with my time being up whenever that might be.  And I’ll trust that the example I’ve shown as a follower of Christ will live on in those who have been a part of my life.  I trust they will say of me, “that Pete Axelson was the real deal; he really loved God and loved others.”  That’s enough for me.