Gun Control that Works

The issue of gun control has been front and center in American politics since the December 14, 2012, senseless murder of 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. On one side of the argument are those who want stricter gun control laws including the banning of some weapons and background checks for gun buyers. On the other side of the argument are proponents of the Second Amendment who don’t want their Constitutional rights infringed any further. Gun control advocates claim that these laws are necessary to stop the slaughter of children, but most of their arguments are flawed. For example, the left will argue that no one needs an AR15 to go hunting. That is a foolish argument because hunting has nothing to do with the Second Amendment. The Second Amendment states, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” It is all about security, protection, and defense.  “This right was described by Blackstone (writing about the right to bear arms in English common-law) as an auxiliary right, supporting the natural rights of self-defense, resistance to oppression, and the civic duty to act in concert in defense of the state.” Our founders viewed the right to bear arms as the right of a citizen to protect himself from tyrannical governments both foreign and domestic

Actually, the Second Amendment is deeply embedded in the American Revolution. It was an attempt by the British to confiscate American guns that ignited the Revolution. “The American War of Independence began on April 19, 1775, when 700 Redcoats under the command of Major John Pitcairn left Boston to seize American arms at Lexington and Concord.” For more information on the historical background, read this article: The American Revolution Against British Gun Control.

Another emotional but flimsy excuse by the left is that if the life of just one person is spared, it will be worth giving up our Second Amendment rights. As I was driving home today, I saw a traffic message that said 786 people had lost their lives in traffic accidents so far this year. If we follow the logic of the left, we could have saved at least 786 lives in Texas by banning all cars. It is true and would be more effective in saving lives than gun control, but it is a foolish argument. 

The problem with all these arguments is they miss the real issue. Passing laws and throwing money at the problem may soothe the consciences of politicians, but they are not effective in saving lives and making us safer. How many people who were shut up in their homes during the hunt for the Boston Bombing terrorists would you imagine wished they had a gun to protect their home and family? Guns in and of themselves are not the problem. The real problem is a spiritual issue. Many people today feel that the Bible is irrelevant to their daily lives, but let me share a story with you to show just how relevant it really is. 

Shortly after Adam and Eve were banned from the Garden of Eden, the first murder occurred. Cain killed his brother Abel. The Bible doesn’t say how he did it. He could have killed him with a rock, a club, or even his bare hands. If he had had a gun back then, he probably would have used that. But, the problem was not the club, the rock, or a hypothetical gun. It was a spiritual problem. You see, Cain had become jealous and furious at Abel because God had accepted Abel’s sacrifice and not his. Now why didn’t God accept Abel’s sacrifice? Because something was not right in Cain’s heart. In fact, God warned Cain saying, “…if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.” (NLT) Today, we don’t like to use the word “sin.” It makes us feel uncomfortable. We might be accused of being judgmental. But the Bible uses the word a lot, and I like to translate it this way, choosing to live life my way rather than God’s way. It’s pretty common. In fact, God says we all do it. Now be careful here because you might get the idea that if everyone has done it, then it can’t be that bad. Wrong! It is just the opposite. Choosing to live life my way rather than God’s way leads to all kinds of bad things: lying, cheating, violence, wars, selfishness, lack of compassion, gossip, hatred, jealousy, divorce, conflict, stealing, arrogance, murder, terrorism,  and on and on it goes. That’s why events like the shooting at Sandy Hook and the bombing at the Boston Marathon happen.

So what is a better answer to this problem. Well, if it is a spiritual problem, then the answer involves turning to God and asking him to change our hearts. That’s what the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus makes possible. But what are we as a country doing? We are rejecting God in every way that we can. Unless there is a catastrophe, we can’t mention prayer or God without being accused of intolerance and religious bigotry. The Ten Commandments have been torn down from our walls, including the one about “Thou shalt not murder.” We slaughter children inside and outside the womb and justify it by hiding behind the cliché of a woman’s right to control her own body. We have allowed the courts to destroy the First Amendment that guarantees that Congress can pass no law that prohibits the free exercise of religion. Instead, we have turned it upside down to mean that no atheist has to ever be exposed to religious expression of any kind (except his own). So we gasp when God’s name is mentioned in schools or in public ceremonies. 

This is not the America that was fought for by our founders. I could cite hundreds of examples, but let’s look at what George Washington, the father of our country, wrote in his Farewell Address in 1796.

Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness – these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity… And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.

Washington believed that our prosperity and happiness as a country depended on religion and morality. Yet we continue to ignore his warning just as we have spit in the face of God. Thomas Jefferson once said,” I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever.” I am sure that Washington would say, “Amen” to that.

Our country is not a theocracy even though we were founded on Christian principles. No one should ever be forced to do any religious activity. Faith cannot be coerced. So what is the answer if it isn’t gun control? Again, the Bible has the answer.

…if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.

The Bible tells us that it begins not with everyone but with people who have turned to God and away from their wicked ways to pray and to seek God with all their hearts. Our politicians don’t need to pass a lot of laws, but those politicians who are believers should encourage us to practice our religious beliefs with peacefulness and joy. Church attendance should be encouraged. The President and Congress could issues proclamations recommending days of fasting, humiliation, and prayer. The Ten Commandments could once again be placed on the walls in our schools and in our courtrooms. If students elect to offer a prayer at school events, it should be allowed. Nativity scenes and crosses should once again be allowed. There are many today who would say this sounds radically crazy and un-American. Actually, it is as American as apple pie. In the early days of our country, Congresses, Presidents, and Governors called for days of fasting, humiliation, and prayer. Here is an example from the Congress and President Abraham Lincoln in March of 1863.

Whereas, the Senate of the United States, devoutly recognizing the supreme authority and just government of Almighty God, in all the affairs of men and nations, has, by a resolution, requested the President to designate and set apart a day for National prayer and humiliation;

And whereas, it is the duty of nations, as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon, and to recognize the sublime truths announced in the Holy Scriptures, and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord;

And, inasmuch as we know that, by his divine law, nations, like individuals, are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war which now desolates the land, may be but a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole people? We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God, we have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!

It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.

During the American Revolution General Washington issued orders for his officers and soldiers to attend church services.

The General most earnestly requires and expects a due observance of those articles of war established for the government of the army which forbid profane cursing, swearing and drunkenness; and in the like manner requires and expects of all officers and soldiers not engaged on actual duty, a punctual attendance on Divine Service to implore the blessings of Heaven upon the means used for our safety and defense. ⁴ GENERAL ORDERS, CAMBRIDGE, JULY 4, 1775

Today, Washington might be subjected to a court marshal for issuing such orders.

I won’t belabor the point any further. The truth, of course, is that even if we implemented these changes, it wouldn’t reverse the trend of our culture overnight. It takes time to reverse a cultural decline that has lasted over 50 years. However, if pursued with diligence, it could be done and a new hope and joy would begin to reign over this country. Lives would be changed and families healed. Gun control laws and politics are exercises in futility that won’t end the violence, but it gives people the illusion that we are doing something. These laws will ultimately lead to the destruction of our Second Amendment rights. The truth is that the problem is a spiritual one and can only be solved by turning back to God. This is the only way that we can get real gun control that works.