Stuck at Half-mast
Sigh...another day in America, another mass shooting. This time at a bank in Louisville, Kentucky. At this time, there are four dead and nine injured.
This was a moment from about 90 minutes before the shooting happened. I was driving into Glenwood Gardens and saw this. The flag raised at half mast (I assume since the shootings at the school in Nashville two weeks ago) with the flag itself caught up in the branches of the tree. As I stopped, I immediately thought of how stuck we are as a country right now around gun violence (not to mention a host of other things). We are stuck in perpetual grief and anger and inaction.
Little did I know that a person was 90 minutes away from carrying out another mass shooting - this one only about 90 minutes from where I stood at that moment. Ironically, I was also finishing up listening to a podcast about the actions of the Tennessee legislature as they expelled two representatives who took direct, nonviolent action to protest the inaction on gun violence.
My wife sent me something she found online today from the Kentucky Council of Churches which represents eleven different church bodies - African Methodist Episcopal, African Methodist Episcopal Zion, Disciples of Christ, Christian Methodist Episcopal, Conservative Baptist Fellowship, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, UCC, and United Methodist. In 1989..yes 1989 (34 years ago), they drafted this statement following nine people being killed in Louisville. Remember this was 34 years ago...
As Christians we are called by our Lord to be Peacemakers, to settle our personal and interpersonal conflicts by non- violent means.
As Christians we are called by our Lord to respect the rights and opinions of others. However, we are concerned about the easy access to and abuse of those guns whose purpose far exceeds a hunting or sporting use (i.e. AK 47 and MC II).
Assault weapons are being used to commit crimes and to attack police and other citizens. Assault weapons have become instruments by which ordinary people act out their aggressions.
On September 14, 1989, at Standard-Gravure in Louisville, an AK 47 was used to kill 9 people and seriously wound 12 more. We seek to make a healthy and constructive response.
As people of faith we stand with the victims of violence. We seek an end to the senseless suffering and death resulting from the availability of assault weapons. We urge our elected representatives to exert moral leadership by making every effort to protect society from these dangerous weapons.
We seek to challenge the existing situation of easy access to assault weapons in our communities and across state lines.
We recognize that legislation will not solve the underlying moral, social and economic conditions that create a climate where these weapons are used. But such action will promote public safety. Therefore, we call for effective legislation and regulations to ban the production, sale and possession of assault weapons.
The Kentucky Council of Churches urges the United States Congress to adopt legislation which will ban the import, domestic production, sale and possession of such weapons.
The Kentucky Council of Churches urges all church leaders to communicate this resolution in such a way that local churches and governing bodies can more effectively study and address this grave moral issue.
The Kentucky Council of Churches encourages all person who support this resolution to communicate their views to the media and their elected officials.
And as I have shared on social media each time another of these happens and nothing is done about it by our elected leaders, here is the litany from the Bishops United Against Gun Violence...
Litany in the Wake of a Mass Shooting
Another entry is waiting to be added.
In the Psalms, there are often laments directed to God about “How long, O Lord.” My lament is not toward God because after all...God has already shown us the way - Blessed are the peacemakers (Matthew 5), Do justice / love mercy / walk humbly with God (Micah 6), Depart from evil and do good; seek peace, and pursue it (Psalm 34:14). My lament is to me, to us, to our elected leaders.... How long will we continue this insanity?
How long?
How long?
How long?
Your photo is a substantial example for the case of gun legislation. It pierces my spirit and makes me hang my head. It is beyond my understanding why our elected leaders are stuck in cement. The only people who can profit from the sales of assault weapons are gangsters and gun store owners. The only citizens who think they can gain from the lack of open carry gun laws are those who want to make sure that a coup of everyday people is possible to overcome our military. We need to pay rapt attention to the power of Lies from the Father of Lies. Is prayer all we can do, other than a constant barrage of emails and postcards sent to our state and federal lawmakers? We can hit the streets with signs and chanting continually, too. What can we boycott?