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

Monday, January 11, 2016

Leadership for Our Time
Psalm 72:1-4, 12-13

Prayer for Guidance and Support for the King
Give the king your justice, O God,
and your righteousness to a king's son.
May [he/she] judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice.
May the mountains yield prosperity for the people,
and the hills, in righteousness.
May [he/she] defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the needy,
and crush the oppressor....
For [he/she] delivers the needy when they call,
the poor and those who have no helper.
[He/She] has pity on the needy,
and saves the lives of the needy.
From oppression and violence [he/she] redeems their life,
and precious is their blood in [their] sight.

Who are the RIGHTEOUS leaders for our time? RIGHTEOUSNESS can be defined as right action, fair action, life-giving, benevolence, compassion and justice.

I am committed to addressing gun violence prevention (GVP) in the nonviolent Spirit of Jesus Christ. Righteous leadership is crucial to create safety for all.

In the United States are the Constitution and other Founding Documents which guide us towards RIGHTEOUS actions on behalf of ALL. the Declaration of Independence speaks of ALL citizens having the rigtht to LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS.  The Constitution speaks of ESTABLISHING JUSTICE, INSURING DOMESTIC TRANQUILITY...PROMOTING THE GENERAL WELFARE.... 

I see a correlation between the prayer of the Psalmist and phrases within our Founding Documents when it comes to helpful guidance in addressing GVP. The focus of the Psalmist and the Founding Documents is RIGHTEOUSNESS for the sake of ALL THE PEOPLE. The Psalmist focused on the People of God and the Founding Documents on the citizens of the United States. ALL! Including the most needy, the poor, oppressed, those who have no helper and vulnerable. The Psalmist wanted to ensure these were INCLUDED in the grand design of the Kingdom. Similarly, the Founding Documents sought to include ALL in the national design. 

I heard the uniting of the Psalmist and the Founding Documents expressed by President Obama last week as he spoke of executive actions he would take to address gun violence. He demonstrated RIGHTEOUS LEADERSHIP in this time consistent with the Psalmist and Founding Documents:

1. Hiring 200 new ATF agents to do background checks and inspections.
2. Increase mental health treatment resources by $500 million, as well as reporting to be
              included in background check system.
3. Stir research on smart gun technology.
4. Tighten up background checks of you want to do gun business.
5. FBI is to overhaul background check system to insure 24/7 availability.
6. FBI to hire 230 more examiners.
7. Tighten-up arms shipping to notify ATF if guns are lost or stolen.
8. Require background checks on people trying to acquire the most dangerous guns through
             trusts, corporations and other legal entities.
9. Renew domestic violence outreach to prevent domestic violence perpetrators from
            purchasing weapons.

These actions are positive steps forward.  They will save lives. They are also limited. Stronger actions are possible only with state and national legislative action. But they are RIGHTEOUS because they seek to protect the vulnerable, the poor, the oppressed, the most needy. They also protect the rights of those who should legitimately possess firearms. These actions demonstrate RIGHTEOUS LEADERSHIP for our time.

Peace!

Ron Letnes