Gun Laws—Sign of Christian Weakness

It was big news when, in Aurora, Colorado, on July 20, James Holmes shot 12 people mortally and wounded about 58 more before his crazed rampage was over. Leaving a trail of dead and injured he brought back into our national conversation questions about what causes deadly violence like this, and the possible need for increased gun control laws.

Bill O’Rielly at Fox News immediately called for more reporting of ammunition sales to the FBI so that government agents could (and presumably would) investigate and follow people who purchased large quantities of bullets. He seems to think that if the government is informed about such things they will surely protect us. He repeatedly referred to the AK47 used by Holmes as a “heavy weapon” that needed to be regulated more closely. No one that knows anything about rifles would call the AK47 a heavy weapon, that is just plain ignorant; dangerous, yes, heavy weapon, no. But, his wrong classification of the AK is the least of my concern. The more worrisome problem is that he and others sincerely believe that more gun laws are any kind of answer to protect us from random acts of violence.

Days ago, Democrats in US Congress inserted language into a Cyber Security Bill (Amendment S.A. 2575) that would make it illegal to carry weapons with ammunition clips holding over 10 rounds. Six senators sponsored this deleterious debacle, half of them from California. It tells us something about California, but it also tells us something about ourselves as a nation, when this kind of tyrannical nuttiness becomes acceptable behavior right out there in the public square. They threaten our liberty and our ability to protect our families, and they are not embarrassed to do so. It tells us more than a little about who we have become as men, defenders of our households, in this country.

Meanwhile, Mayor Bloomberg, up in New York City is making statements that the police ought to go on strike and stop protecting all Americans until such time as more gun laws are passed. He says he is worried about the safety of the cops. And me! I am left spluttering; just wait a gosh-darned minute, weren’t the cops supposed to be protecting us? When did this get reversed? The public is supposed to be further disarmed so that the police can be safe? New York is already in a state of tyranny concerning guns and the public banning thereof. Now we are asked to believe that we need more gun laws everywhere so that police may perform their duties danger free? So much for the hero persona little boys are so apt to try to adopt. Now it’s the moms and dads and grandmas that are going to risk their safety so that peace officers can wander the streets unaccosted. For some reason the bureaucrats just hate it when law abiding accountants, carpenters, and mechanics provide a little extra protection by carrying a pistol in the back of their pants. I guess we are all supposed to stand around (or run screaming) when a nut-job like James Holmes decides to open fire on the unprotected. It took the police eight minutes to get there. By then 12 people were dead. I am glad the cops were safe that night, but it’s a shame about those movie goers. Yeah, Mr. Bloomberg, I think you are dumber than a brick, or just plain evil. The scary thought however, is that you were elected not appointed. Now I risk insulting my audience so I’ll go to the next paragraph.

I have been reading in the fourth chapter of Nehemiah. There I found the story of God’s people under threat and duress by the surrounding people as the walls of Jerusalem were being rebuilt,

Now it came about when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the repair of the walls of Jerusalem went on, and that the breaches began to be closed, they were very angry.”

Nehemiah writes,

When I saw their fear, I rose and spoke to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, ‘Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.

He also tells us, ‘each took his weapon even to the water.’ I believe Mayor Bloomberg, our California Senators, and Bill O’Rielly, could all take a lesson from this. They could note how an entire nation was kept safe through the arming of every adult male in the country. They carried their arms everywhere, even to the water. Maybe we too ought to carry them everywhere, even to the movie theater.

The important point to notice in this Scripture is that it was the duty of every adult male to protect your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses. The duty to protect did not just lie with the military or with any government agent. Rather, it was every ordinary man’s work to be a protector, to carry a weapon. It was regular folks who made the society safe not professionals.

I Googled a listing of churches in Aurora,Colorado. Listed were 58 churches. Everybody was there, ten Lutheran, nine Baptist, ten nondenominational, eight Catholic, five Presbyterian, and several others. It is a near certainty that there are many other churches in Aurora not found on that list. So, my question is this. Why, with so many churches, and presumably, so many Christians, in the city of Aurora, were laws to disarm the public ever allowed to be passed or to stand? In Aurora, it is illegal (except for government officials) to carry a loaded firearm in a vehicle thus practically disarming everyone but police. It is also illegal to discharge any firearm within city limits except at a firing range or by police. Hence, even if someone had smuggled a handgun into that theater it would have been illegal to use it to stop James Holmes. By disarming the public those official rules assured the deaths of twelve people. No law-abiding citizen could stop him.

So, where were the Christian men? Why did they agree to be disarmed? Where were the Christian pastors speaking out against this outrage of making guns carry illegal? Why was the church so somnambulant regarding this precious right and duty? Why was there not an insistent civil discord, a throwing out of those reckless officials who came up with this injurious nonsense? Where were the pastors? Where were the incensed Christian heads of households? Why was the church silent? Where were the church leaders and where were the men?

Guys —it is not our duty to make the streets safe for the police by being disarmed. It is rather, every Christian man’s duty to try to protect his brothers, sons, daughters, wife, and their houses. We have changed in our commitments, but God has not changed in His commands. The duty to protect is not given only to civil government. It is given to us men. We have to stop trusting in government to do our work for us. We have to demand the return of our rights and put our pants back on. And, as we hike em up—maybe shove an automatic in the waistband.

For Christian Culture,

Don Schanzenbach

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