The Difference a Gun Can Make

The Real Difference in the Trayvon Martin Case:

A Gun Changed Everything

by the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II

Sermon as prepared for Second Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Baltimore, MD

Sunday, July 14, 2013

SERMON TOPIC: The Difference a Gun Can Make

TEXT: You shall not kill (Exodus 20:13)

We are living in difficult times. We are witnessing gun deaths in the United States of more than thirty thousand persons per year since 1997. From the Revolutionary War in 1775 to the Persian Gulf War in 1991, which totaled 116 years of engagement in foreign wars, there were 650,858 persons killed in combat. In the eighteen years from 1979 to 1997, the United States experienced 651,697 deaths by guns. There were 839 more persons killed by guns during this 18-year period in the United States than in 116 years of foreign wars involving the United States.[1] During the Fourth of July holiday weekend a few weeks ago, twelve men were killed and at least 60 other people were wounded in shootings throughout Chicago. Two hundred murders have now occurred this year in Chicago, a city that witnessed over 500 murders last year.[2] Recently, in your city of Baltimore, Police Commissioner Anthony Batts announced a plan that included using federal officers to combat crime and murders in this city.

We are living in a culture of violence in the United States. From toy guns and holsters, to movies and cartoons, to video games that simulate warfare and deaths by automatic weapons, inlcuding blood splatter. Participants of all ages are able to be actors in the simulated slaughter of other human beings. Violence on television provides actual blueprints for killing another person. And daily we watch the glamorizing of murder on our mobile devices and hear lyrics to songs declaring that there is something noble about killing another human being, including shooting the police.

Our text for the morning is taken from our ancient Judeo-Christian Covenant that some theologians believe pre-dates the Prophet Moses. Hence, these commandments are a reiteration of God’s desired covenant for the ordering of communal life. The Ten Commandments could be considered an internal declaration as to how one ancient Israelite would treat another. Our commandment under study today might then read, “Do not kill (another Israelite).”  The Hebrew word for murder “rasah”, reminds us that human life belongs to God.

In the words of my early learning about God and life, I was often reminded, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away.” This was an interpretive spin off of Job 1:21 which reads “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there; the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (NRSV). In our reflections on the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s confessional document, A Brief Statement of Reformed Faith, we find the words, “In Life and in death we belong to God,”[3] which are representative of our connection to the Author and Finisher of all things, God Almighty. These words also remind us of the common brother and sisterhood among humanity, which links us in a mutuality of love through the love shown by God Almighty. However, this God-centered love is difficult to identify amid the massive killing in the United States today.

Our denominational policy reminds us that, as Presbyterians, we have a responsibility to broaden our relationships with other faith communities, creating a broad-based social movement to prevent gun violence:

Our church can and should lead the way in the broader faith community to the creation of a broad-based social movement to prevent gun violence, beginning with and led by an opening to the Holy Spirit, and drawing its strength from the grassroots, especially people in the pews. Such a coalition of congregations and other faith communities can take practical direct action on local levels while generating critical change in cultural norms and attitudes toward guns, their possession, distribution, and use. In this way our church, the faith community, and the movement they can lead, will heed God’s call to protect more of God’s children.[4] (emphasis added)

John Calvin, the founder of the Presbyterian Church, believed that biblical principles had direct applicability in the ordering of civil society. So, in his commentary on the Sixth Commandment, “You shall not kill,” Calvin expressed a theological perspective on the ordering of society that is based on the value of each human life as loved and redeemed by God, and therefore, in need of protection. The purpose of this commandment is that, since the Lord has bound the whole human race by a kind of unity, the safety of all ought to be considered as entrusted to each. In general, therefore, all violence and injustice, and every kind of harm from which our neighbor’s body suffers, is prohibited. Accordingly, we are required faithfully to do what lies within us to defend the life of our neighbor, to promote whatever tends to his tranquility, to be vigilant in warding off harm, and when danger comes, to assist in removing it.[5]

We worship this morning following the midnight verdict in the case Florida v. George Zimmerman, which exonerated Zimmerman of all charges related to the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. I visited Central Florida Presbytery on June 4^th. The meeting was held at First Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in Sanford, Florida, a week before the jury selection in the George Zimmerman case. I left Sanford convinced that if George Zimmerman had not had a gun that night, Trayvon Martin would be alive today. The power of a gun gives courage to pursue in moments of cowardice. If Zimmerman had not had a gun, he would not have followed Martin, nor could he have shot him to death.

I have heard both blatant and subtle inferences that the actions of George Zimmerman had nothing to do with race. The State Attorney for Florida declared last night that Trayvon Martin was profiled, but she would not affirm that race was the basis of the profiling. Those persons who believe that this killing had nothing to do with race are either mistaken or naïve in their view of what history and our present reality reveals about the United States of America. This tragedy is only one example of many, that show that continued, insidious, and pervasive racism persist in this country.

In November 2012, Jordan Davis, a 17-year-old African American and resident of Jacksonville, Florida, was killed by Michael David Dunn, a 45-year-old White man, for playing his music too loud while sitting in a car. In July 2012, Chavis Carter, a 21-year-old African American who was handcuffed in the back of a police car in Jonesboro, Arkansas, is believed to have shot himself in the head with a concealed weapon while handcuffed. Questions remain as to the validity of police reports in Carter’s alleged suicide. The upcoming Sundance Movie Festival presentation Fruitvale Station will depict a true story of the police killing of Oscar Grant. Grant was a 22-year-old African American man on a subway platform in Oakland, California. He was apprehended by police and shot dead while in custody. The White police officer was exonerated after saying he thought he pulled his Taser.

A major sector of our society is impacted by hostilities connected to issues of race, gender, sexual orientation – all of which stem from issues of privilege, domination, control, and entitlement. In the Zimmerman trial, we failed to appropriately implement the law as a basis for enforcing communal morality. Hence, we have sent a message to historically disenfranchised groups and new immigrants that the Stand Your Ground Law is a license for killing without motivation or cause for threat. The Stand Your Ground Law and other similar laws that protect the privileged while distancing the vulnerable from covenant community must be eliminated. Our Christian communal covenant reminds us that “You shall not kill.” (Exodus 20:13)

           

Our vigilance to press for stricter gun laws in the country must not be deterred by the inability of our Congressional leaders to muster their courage and stand for righteousness. We must be vigilant in our efforts to hold them accountable by advocating:

1. Banning all assault weapons. These are weapons of war and there is no reason for common citizens to purchase or possess them. We must call for the reinstatement of the assault weapons ban that lapsed in 2004.
2. Requiring universal background checks. Presently, there is no federal provision for background checks and some states that do not require them at all.
3.  Gun trafficking becoming a federal crime. Currently, prosecutions only proceed through a law that prohibits selling guns without a federal license, which carries the same punishment as trafficking chicken or livestock. We must empower law enforcement to investigate and prosecute straw purchasers, gun traffickers, and their entire criminal networks.

Let’s be clear…Killing is an act of Non-Love! Killing is antithetical to the will of God! Our call is to be supportive of abundant life while recognizing that, in life and in death, we belong to God.

The writer of I Corinthians establishes the basis of just treatment towards another human being as grounded in love. Love (agape) refers to self-giving action on behalf of others, which God’s Spirit makes feasible. If a person is going to practice love, she or he must hate evil. It is not just that she or he avoids evil; she or he must take a stand against evil (I Corinthians 12:9). The advocacy work that I do daily means nothing, if love is not the essence of my actions and advocacy (I Corinthians 13:1).

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ENDNOTES

[1] James Atwood, America and its Guns: A Theological Expose (Eugene Oregon: Cascade Books, 2012) Appendix p. 227-228.

[2] http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/15-Shot-As-Holiday-Weekend-Begins-214275491.html#ixzz2YyQmk9Iq

[3] A Brief Statement of Reformed Faith, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Book of Confessions (Louisville, KY: Office of the General Assembly, 2004), 267.

[4] Gun Violence and Gospel Values: Mobilizing in Response to God’s Call; approved by the 219^th General Assembly (2010) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.); developed by the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP); published in 2011; p. 6

[5] Ibid. Gun Violence and Gospel Values, p. 9.

This Independence Day, Tell Congress that We All Deserve Freedom from Violence!

Members of Congress are home in their districts for the July 4^th Recess – and as we celebrate what freedom and independence means for each of us, we must remind Congress that we all deserve to be free from domestic and sexual violence!   

• 1 in every 4 women will experience domestic violence during her lifetime.
• 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men have experienced an attempted or completed rape. 
• Every day in the US, three women are murdered by an intimate partner.
• 5.5 million children are exposed to violence annually.
• 26,000 cases of sexual assault related incidences occurred in the military, 3,374 were reported, and just 300 were prosecuted.
• In one 12-month period, 3.4 million adults were victims of stalking.

                        

Despite the progress we have made toward addressing and preventing these crimes, an overwhelming need for survivor services, intervention, and prevention efforts remains.  Congress needs to hear from you that responding to the needs of domestic and sexual violence survivors is still an urgent priority!

A number of key issues impacting victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking are currently being considered by Congress:

• Immigration Reform – While the Senate recently passed a comprehensive bill that will help bring immigrants out of the shadows, provide a path to citizenship, and strengthen protections for immigrant survivors of violence, the House of Representatives has yet to take up a similar bill.  As the House moves forward on this issue, they must pass legislation that meets the needs of immigrant survivors and grants them access to all the vital safety net programs necessary to escape abusive situations. 
• Gun Safety – Both the House and the Senate must continue to work towards passing legislation that would require background checks for all gun sales in commercial settings.  There are too many loopholes in current law that allow domestic abusers to access firearms and by providing for commonsense additions to the background check system, we can reduce violence against women and save lives.  

• Funding – Local service providers have already experienced years of funding cuts and are struggling to keep their lights on and doors open in order to provide safety and support.  The Congressionally-mandated sequester cuts are further decimating the resources that survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking need to escape and heal from violence and abuse. Congress must end the sequester and invest in VAWA, FVPSA, and VOCA programs to ensure that lifesaving services will continue to be available to survivors of domestic and sexual violence.
• Military Sexual Assault – Our partners at the Interfaith Domestic Violence Coalition will be asking that Senator Gillibrand’s Military Justice Improvement Act, S. 967, be adopted when the Senate takes up the National Defense Authorization Act in the weeks ahead.

ACTION ITEM 1): CONTACT YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND ASK THEM TO SUPPORT LEGISLATION AND PROGRAMS THAT HELP SURVIVORS FIND FREEDOM FROM VIOLENCE! 

Contact your Congressional officials here.  Many Members will be out in the community during Fourth of July celebrations, so you can also approach them at events in your area!

Deliver the following message:

• I am a constituent from [city and state] and my name is _________.  
• As we celebrate the fourth of July, with its message of freedom, I urge Senator/Representative [insert name] to support legislation and programs that help survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault find freedom, independence, and safety.
• Some of the issues that are most important to me are [reference immigration reform, gun safety, military SA and/or funding, as detailed above].  
• Ask if your House or Senate Member supports any or all of these important improvements and offer to send information or stories from your program or community.
•  Thank the staffer or Member for their time.  

ACTION ITEM 2): TWEET THESE MESSAGES TO YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS! 

Find your Members’ Twitter handles here, and use the sample tweets below.

[Insert Twitter handle] As we celebrate freedom, remember that all deserve to be free from domestic violence & sexual assault. #endDV #endSA

[Insert Twitter handle] This July 4^th, help survivors of abuse gain independence by investing in the resources programs need to provide safety and support!

[Insert Twitter handle] Freedom means not living in fear of being murdered by an abusive partner. #savewomenslives #DemandAction

[Insert Twitter handle] Freedom means knowing you can escape abuse and still remain in this country safely & legally. #supportCIR

Like us on Facebook  and follow us on Twitter!

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Thanks to our partners at the National Task Force to End Violence Against Women for this content!

For more information, fact sheets, press coverage, support letters and updates visit www.4vawa.org.

Follow them on Twitter at @NTFVAWA and “like” their Facebook page!      

Advocacy as Discipleship: Guns and Our Culture of Violence

First Quarter Publication; March 2013

Advocacy as Discipleship is produced quarterly by the Office of Public Witness to provide background information to advocates on why we, as Christian Citizens, engage in public witness ministries.

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Guns and Our Culture of Violence

By J. Herbert Nelson

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. - Matthew 5:9

Our Culture of Violence

I participated in a conference several years ago in Philadelphia in which a panel discussed the media’s reaction to escalated violence in the United States. The culture of violence in our nation was illumined for me during this conference. One reporter on the panel shared with the audience that “violence sells.” She told the crowd gathered in this hotel ballroom that each night before the eleven o’clock news, her television station attempted to lead the broadcast with a story of murder. “We wait up to three minutes before the eleven o’clock news broadcast is to air for another murder to happen before determining our lead story.” I heard for the first time the phrase “if it bleeds, it leads,” referring to the headlines chosen to lead late night news stories in the media. We are living in a nation in which, since 1979, over 30,000 people per year suffer gun-related deaths.ⁱ  The need for the Church to speak both theologically and prophetically is long overdue.

The 219^th General Assembly (2010) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) approved a prophetic statement entitled Gun Violence, Gospel Values: Mobilizing in Response to God’s Call. At the same time, the Washington, DC, political environment was overwhelmed with an economic crisis and political gridlock. The National Rifle Association (NRA) supported many political campaigns and remained one of the strongest lobbies in Washington, DC.  A consequence of the NRA’s efforts was a complete lack of political will to pass any new legislation that would reduce gun violence.ⁱⁱ  But we saw a turning point in the gun violence discussion with the Tucson, Arizona, shooting during a “Congress on the Corner” event that killed six persons and wounded thirteen others in front of a Safeway on January 8, 2011. Gabrielle Giffords, a sitting member of Congress, was severely wounded and is now a high-profile advocate against gun violence. Since the Tucson shooting, the Office of Public Witness has become invested in countering the violence that permeates our culture through guns, athletic competitions, video games, television programs, movies, music, common idioms, and a host of other embedded normative cultural behaviors and activities.ⁱⁱⁱ

The Root Causes of Gun Violence

J. Herbert Nelson visits the Virginia Tech Memorial

Gun violence does not operate in a vacuum. The high rates of inner city poverty brought on by the suburbanization of jobs and ever-widening income inequality and unemployment have created massive pockets of poverty in many urban cities.^iv Underground economies such as drug sales, prostitution, and robbery fuel turf battles, high crime, and a host of other illegal gun-protected businesses. Many of these gun deaths are directly associated with failed educational and missed economic opportunities. It is imperative that we address our collective, social failings regarding poor education and failing schools, gentrification, joblessness, high poverty rates, inequality, and other community dysfunctions. Many of these issues are at the core of gun deaths associated with domestic violence, suicide, and murder in impoverished communities.       

Another area that requires a broader discussion regarding gun violence is mental health care. We must not demonize the mentally ill in this debate. In 2012, we witnessed a number of high profile mass shootings that were committed by persons with mental health issues. But epidemiological studies show that the vast majority of persons with mental illness do not commit violent crimes and that most violent crimes are not attributable to mental illnesses.^v  In fact, people with mental illness are more likely to be victims of crime than perpetrators.^vi  

Nonetheless, it cannot be denied that our health care system is failing people with mental illness.  We must do better, ensuring that people with mental illness and their families have access to the care and services they need.  People with mental illness who commit violent crimes are outliers, and yet it is possible that better mental health care may have prevented even just one of the tragic mass shootings in recent years. It is important that we admit our nation is not doing enough to provide adequate care for persons with mental illnesses. Gun violence is a symptom of deeper ills prevalent in our nation. It is imperative that we address some basic issues regarding the restoration of community values and neighborly love in redirecting our culture of violence. 

Gun Laws Work

The murder of twenty-six school children and teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, has further exposed the culture of violence permeating our society. Adam Lanza, a mentally disturbed man, brought three legally-purchased weapons inside the school on December 14, 2012, and left a fourth in his car, according to police. Those weapons were a Bushmaster AR-15 rifle and two handguns -- a Glock 10 mm and a Sig Sauer 9 mm. The military style Bushmaster AR-15 assault rifle capable of firing 45 rounds per minute in semi-automatic mode was the primary weapon. Lanza used numerous 30 round magazines. Under the 1994 federal assault weapons ban, buying some variants of new AR-15s was against the law. The ban expired in 2004.^vii

Weapons of war, including assault weapons, are available to common citizens. The easy accessibility of guns, including assault rifles in the United States, is a major contributor to gun violence in mass shootings. Gun shows provide a forum for unregulated gun transfers which often place guns in the hands of people who could not otherwise legally purchase a gun. In thirty-three states, private gun owners are not restricted from selling guns at gun shows. This so-called “loophole” does not require purchasers to submit to federal background checks. Sales through the gun-show loophole comprise forty percent of gun sales in the United States, including most guns that are later used in crimes.^viii   

Random gun violence makes each one of us at risk of premature death. Whether it be at the movie theater, a house of worship, on a college a campus, or at an elementary, middle, or high school, none of us are safe as long as automatic weapons continue to be available through illegal sales, limited background checks, and a host of inconsistencies that exist in present gun laws. We must call on our elected officials to engage in committed action to strengthen gun laws in this country.

Building a Movement

Elder Linda Valentine, Executive Director of the Presbyterian
Mission Agency, calls her Congressman from the OPW on
a faith call-in day to reduce gun violence.

The Office of Public Witness (OPW) is working with Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence^ix to press for common-sense measures to reduce gun violence in the United States.  Recognizing the legitimate use of private firearms for protection and hunting, there remain sensible steps that we can take, as a nation, to help prevent guns from falling into the hands of people with criminal intent.  We are calling for:

1. A ban on all assault weapons. These high capacity weapons are designed for war. There is no reason for common citizens to purchase or possess them. We do not use AK-47’s to hunt; their only purpose is to kill a lot of people - quickly. We need to reinstate the assault weapons ban to ensure that high capacity weapons are not sold to the public.

2. Universal background checks. Currently, there is no federal provision requiring a background check in order to purchase a gun and some states do not require them at all. Therefore, people who do not know how to properly handle a firearm or who have criminal records can make gun purchases.

3. Make gun trafficking a federal crime. Enforcement of gun trafficking and straw purchases, both inside and outside of the country, is weak. Many of these weapons end up in the hands of individuals who are focused on criminal intent. At present, the penalties for trafficking guns in the U.S. are on par with the trafficking of chickens or other livestock. The trafficking of guns and straw purchases should be federal crimes with commensurate penalties.

In states where these measures have been implemented, they have been proven effective at reducing gun violence.^x The challenge for U.S. citizens is to become active and informed on political issues – not only those directly related to gun violence, but also poverty, inequality, poor education, our culture of violence and perpetual war, the military industrial complex, and the lack of access to needed physical and mental health care. The OPW is here to help educate members of the PC(USA) and others on how to become an effective advocate.

Action Steps that We Can Take Together

1. Pray for our President and the United States Congress as they struggle with the issue of gun violence.

2. Sign the  PC(USA) Office of Public Witness’ online petition to reduce gun violence.

3. Email our office to request post cards of this petition to use in your church and local community.

4. Encourage your pastor(s) to preach sermons, teach bible studies, and become involved in the efforts to eradicate gun violence in your local community.

5. Host a screening of TRIGGER, the PC(USA) documentary on eradicating gun violence. Hold congregational and community discussions in your house of worship.  Learn more.

6. Write and/or call your Congresspersons and the President each week stating your support for federal legislation to reduce gun violence. (See the requested actions outlined in the petition in #2). Find contact information for your elected officials.

7. Read the gun violence policy statement of the PC(USA) General Assembly and bring the bible study to an Adult Christian Education class - Gun Violence and Gospel Values: Mobilizing In Response to God’s Call

Visit our blog at for all of these action items.

Conclusion

The Church of Jesus Christ is called to challenge the present culture of violence in the U.S. We cannot eradicate gun violence without addressing the underlying issues that create hostility, inequality, illegal, underground economies, and underserved, desperate populations of people. We must encourage our elected officials to implement gun laws that work, while claiming our faith as the central motivation for our advocacy.

Our role as Christians is to be peacemakers. Peace is not the absence of controversy or discord; nor is peace the quiet retreat amid confusion and rancor. Peace requires our active participation in the work to serve the common good. The words from the Beatitudes -- “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God”  -- in Matthew 5:9 remind us that peace must be made. Making peace often stirs controversy. Peace represents the active process of engaging a faithful witness on behalf of Jesus Christ despite the impending struggle that will occur. Peace exposes human frailty and sin in order to make repentance possible.

Jesus affirms that his presence and teachings in the world will create division among those who are closest to him (Matthew 10:34). Therefore, the gospel is a double-edged sword that evokes unrest while creating a platform for peaceful reconciliation. The power in a deliberate effort to establish peace is found in the love that that makes it possible. As the PC(USA) General Assembly reminds us, “We must keep our ‘eyes on the prize,’ of preventing gun violence and the unnecessary deaths and injuries that result. Enough blood has been spilled.”^xi  We affirm that through good organizational effort, animated by the passion for justice that comes to the people of God through the Holy Spirit, gun violence can be dramatically reduced.

ENDNOTES

i. Gun Violence, Gospel Values: Mobilizing In Response to God’s Call (Louisville, KY: Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly, 2010), 14.

ii. Walter Hickey, How The NRA Became The Most Powerful Special Interest In Washington, in The Business Insider, Dec. 18, 2012.

iii. James E. Atwood, American and Its Guns: A Theological Expose (Eugene, Oregon: Cascade Books, 2012)

iv. William Julius Wilson, There Goes the Neighborhood (New York: Vintage Books, 2006); Wilson, When Work Disappears (New York: Vintage Books, 1996) Wilson, analysis of the suburbanization of jobs in Chicago which led to inner city poverty and growing social problems that have created more crime and dysfunction in African American communities. It must be noted that Chicago had over 500 murders in 2012. The escalation of the Wilson’s studies continues in that city. 

v. Seena Fazel and Martin Grann, The Population Impact of Severe Mental Illness on Violent Crimes, in The American Journal of Psychiatry; Vol. 163 No. 8, 2006.

iv. Grounded in Faith: Resources on Mental Illness and Gun Violence, a forthcoming publication prepared by the Interfaith Disability Advocacy Coalition (IDAC), a program of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), April 2013.

vii. Steve Almasy, Newtown shooter’s guns: What we Know, CNN, Wednesday, December 19, 2012.

viii. Obama Takes on the NRA, in The Week  Magazine, January 25, 2013, 2.

ix. Faiths United Against Gun Violence, http://faithsagainstgunviolence.org.

x. Deborah Kotz and Brian MacQuarrie, States with strictest firearm laws have lowest rates of gun deaths, Boston Children’s Hospital study finds, in Daily Dose: Health News, Advice and Information. Accessed: http://www.boston.com/dailydose/2013/03/06/states-with-strictest-firearm-laws-have-lowest-rates-gun-deaths-boston-children-hospital-study-finds/zaIGbTdwtVaPFiGlCfSlTP/story.html

xi. Full Rationale for Gun Violence, Gospel Values: Mobilizing in Response to God’s Call—From the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy. 2008 Referral: Item 09-05. Direct the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy to Prepare a Comprehensive Study on Gun Violence—From the 218th General Assembly (2008), (Minutes, 2008, Part I, p. 860).

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