Matters of Church and State

LET THERE BE LIFE

        My wife Brigitte and I participated in the recent March on Washington for sensible gun control.  As we assembled on the Mall, virtually in the shadow of the Capitol, there were signs for D.C., Virginia, and Maryland to indicate where residents of those jurisdictions could gather.   There also was a section for church parishes.  So, out of curiosity, Brigitte and I gravitated toward that area.  We found a visible presence for Methodists, Unitarians, Baptists, Jews, and Presbyterians.  But no Catholics.  At least no visible presence representing the Catholic Church that said:  The Catholic Church formally supports sensible gun control.

          At the Washington Monument, where the march for gun control ended and the rally began, the program included speakers from Congress, the Administration, the local theater world, and various Christian denominations, including Baptist and Methodists.  But, no Catholic bishops or priests or laypeople formally representing the Catholic Church.

          Yet, just the day before, at the anti-abortion rally on the Mall on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, there was a highly visible presence of the Catholic Church promoting its pro-life position.  As a pro-choice Catholic, I have no problem with that.  Abortion is a very difficult and troubling moral issue and people of good faith come down on opposite sides of that issue.  To this day, I have never met anyone who is pro-abortion.  So, the real issue is not who is for abortion and who is against it.  It’s what do we do about it, and the best approach, to my mind, is what the Clinton Administration proposed: Making it safe, legal, and rare.

          But, that aside, if the Church has a consistent pro-life position that includes supporting life outside the womb, wouldn’t you think it could send a representative to speak or at least be visibly present at the gun control rally?  After all, in light of the horrific number of gun-related deaths in this country, it seems to me that gun control is clearly a sensible, pro-life measure.

          So what’s sensible?  It seems to me the President’s proposals are sensible, even more lenient than I expected.  What right minded, sensible person would object to background checks, re-imposing a ban on military style assault weapons, or limiting the current size of high capacity gun magazines, among the President’s other gun control proposals?

          To be fair to responsible gun owners, many of them  are afraid of the “slippery slope,” seeing this so-called sensible approach as the first step in taking away their guns altogether.  That’s why they’re flocking to gun stores now buying guns that they worry will not be available when the government cracks down on the sale of all guns.  Paranoia?  Sure, but don’t forget, gun ownership and the fear of government disarming its citizens is rooted deep in our history and part of our DNA as Americans.

          Still, despite this, I am hopeful that sensible gun control measures can be enacted despite the NRA and the continuing opposition in Congress and in our communities.  It may take another election cycle, although I hope not.  Look what is happening to immigration reform.  Prior to the 2012 election, not many betting people would have given this issue much of a chance for Congressional action.  Now politicians, once stalwart opponents of the Dream Act and any other conciliatory gesture toward immigrants, have seen the light and are bumping into another to get on board.  It was not a spiritual awakening or change of heart that prompted the change, you can be sure.  It was the jolt of political reality provided by the demographics of the 2012 election results showing that Hispanic voters were a major factor in the Democratic victory.

          It may take the same political jolt to get sensible gun control enacted, and “we the people” are the key.  Politicians will see the light and come to their senses when people like you and me make our voices heard in overwhelming numbers by writing and calling our elected representatives now and making our voices and their ballots heard in the 2014 elections.  It’s a fight that’s ours – we the people -- to win or lose. I am hoping as well that the Catholic Church will pick up its battle standard and lend its considerable weight to this critical fight for life and common sense.

Jerry