Thursday, January 28, 2016

Jarring Truth

And [Jesus] said, "No prophet is accepted in
the prophet's home town."
....When they heard this, all in the synagogue
were filled with rage.  They got up, drove him 
out of the town, and led him to the brow
of the hill on which their town was built,
so that they might throw him off the cliff.
But he passed through the midst of them
and went on his way.
Luke 4:24, 28-30

Prophets of love often speak the JARRING TRUTH to their "homeys." Why? Because love "jars" the status quo. Love plows new rows, opens unexpected paths and surprises us with the unexpected. 

So it is with gun violence prevention. We hear of prophetic actions which can water the flowers of peace, but which may cause discomfort, a reorientation of thinking, risk unpopularity, affect profits, and advance disfavored laws that will equate love with safety. What are these prophetic actions?

FIRST: Insist on universal background checks for licensed dealers and private sellers, including
                        sellers who are passing guns to family members.
SECOND: Require ALL gun sellers to be licensed.
THIRD: Register ALL guns, keeping serial numbers, make and model and buyers' names on file.
                       This would allow for tracing of weapons used in crimes.
FOURTH: Require ALL gun purchasers to enroll and pass a gun safety course.
FIFTH: Prohibit sales of assault rifles.  Make them available at gun clubs.
SIXTH: Develop and market smart gun technology.
SEVENTH: Prohibit straw purchasing of weapons. A person who passes a background check
                         cannot then pass the gun on to someone who has not passed a BGCheck.
EIGHTH: Prohibit inter-state trafficking.
NINTH: Hold gun dealers accountable for the illegal sale of guns. Fine them, shut them down,
                          or send them to prison.
TENTH: Prevent those on the Terrorist Watch List from purchasing guns.
ELEVEN: Hold gun manufacturers accountable for failure to develop safe guns and for
                          illegal marketing.
TWELVE: Require that guns in home be locked up and bullets kept in a separate locked site.
THIRTEEN: Prohibit the significantly mentally ill from purchasing and owning guns.
FOURTEEN: Allow for temporary restraining orders to be filled by family or professional
                          counselors to prevent a stressed person from purchasing a weapon until
                          the time of crisis has passed. 
FIFTEEN: Disallow open-carry in public places including schools, courthouses and commercial
                          businesses. 

For many, passage of the above laws will be a "jarring" awakening, repulsed and rejected. Many will insist that their Constitutional rights are being violated. But they will create a safer gun environment.  Furthermore, hunters, sport shooters, those who want to protect home and family can still own guns. The only people affected will be the criminal, the terrorist, the significantly mentally ill, and the temporarily over-stressed person.

Who will speak the prophetic word and move to pass these safety laws? Who will insist on greater safety from guns? Who will provide gun owners with a greater level of acceptance by demanding safety laws? 

Who are the prophets? Who will risk being thrown off the cliff? Who will speak JARRING TRUTH?Is it I?

Peace!

Ron Letnes

No comments:

Post a Comment