NRA and the Second Amendment

Part IV

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities;

for there is no authority except from God....Therefore, whoever

resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those

who resist will incur judgment.

Romans 13:1-2

"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."

Second Amendment

United States Constitution

The foundation of the NRA's gun advocacy is in the Bill of Rights-Second Amendment, adopted on 15 December 1791 in Philadelphia.  The force of the amendment is in its interpretation. Historically, there have been two basic interpretations: 1) Gun rights within the context of a militia; 2) Individual rights.  The NRA stresses individual rights.  We need to understand both interpretations.

MILITIA:  What is a militia?  To quote Jack Anderson, "It is a body of citizens enrolled for discipline as a military force but not engaged in actual service except in emergencies, as distinguished from regular troops or a standing army."  It is with this understanding that six former U.S. Attorney Generals signed a letter which stated:

For over 200 years the federal courts have unanimously determined that the 

Second Amendment concerns only the arming of the people in

service to the organized state militia.  It does not guarantee

immediate access to guns for private purposes.

INDIVIDUAL:  The NRA contends that the 2nd Amendment grants permission for an individual to purchase, possess and use almost any weapon with no legal restrictions.  To support their argument, the NRA turns to the 2008 Supreme Court decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, which overturned a Washington D.C. law that banned handguns for self defense.  The court said the 2nd Amendment protects an individual right to possess firearms for lawful use, such as self defense.  The result of this decision was this pronouncement by Wayne LaPierre of the NRA: 

Our Founding Fathers wrote and intended the 2nd Amendment

to be an individual right.  The Supreme Court  has now acknowledged it.

 The 2nd Amendment as an individual right now becomes a permanent

part of American Constitutional law.

It is important, however, to look at the details of the ruling. Writing for the majority, Justice Scalia was careful to state that the Second Amendment is not absolute, and a wide range of gun control laws remain "presumptively lawful", including laws that :  1) Prohibit carrying concealed weapons; 2)  Prohibit firearm possession by felons, the mentally ill; 3) Possession in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings; 4) Ban firearms that are "dangerous and unusual"; 5) Impose "conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms."; 6) Regulate firearm storage to prevent accidents.

Notice the caveats within the ruling.  There is no carte blanche individual right permission.  Therefore, laws can be written that provide for the "domestic tranquility and general welfare".  The NRA, however, will continue to push the individual right button as the true meaning within the Second Amendment. This bias needs to be rightfully challenged.  To quote former Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger in referring to the NRA's Second Amendment myth, calling it "one of the greatest pieces of fraud, I repeat the word fraud, on the American people by any special interest group than I have ever seen in my lifetime." He continued: "Prior to Heller, the Supreme Court never recognized that individuals had an individual right to keep and bear arms".  Significantly, the dissenting opinion to Heller reinforced the historical opinion that supported guns for use only in the context of  militia and further stated that the decision does not limit government's authority to regulate civilian use in possession of firearms.

Recently, an editorialist for GUNS AND AMMO magazine (December 2013, p. 120) commented on the interpretation of the 2nd Amendment. Quoting the amendment, Dick Metcalf wrote: "Note carefully: Those last four words say 'shall not be infringed'.  They do not say 'shall not be regulated'. 'Well regulated' is, in fact, the initial criterion of the amendment itself." The response by subscribers was so strongly opposed to his comments that he was relieved and replaced of writing responsibility.

I conclude there is significant weight to Constitutionally regulate  the sale, purchase, and use of firearms.  Furthermore, the NRA has fraudulently abused the letter and spirit of the 2nd Amendment to justify its position of  non-regulated individual right to bear arms.  The result has been catastrophic for the United States.

In an article published in the DULUTH NEWS TRIBUNE, Monday, December 9, 2013, State District Court Judge, Mark Munger wrote: "We require duck and goose hunters to plug their shotguns.  They only get three chances to down a bird. Why do we protect migratory waterfowl better than our children?".

The NRA likes to quote from the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution to justify their positions.  Here is what they leave out: "...establish justice, insure domestic tranquility,...promote the general welfare...." And "all people have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."  There is more than ample justification for those in authority (as Paul writes) to write laws that guarantee good order.  Indeed, it is significant that the verses before and following Romans 13:1-7 speak of love.  He is saying that the prime function of government is to insure LOVE.   Proper laws and regulations concerning the sale, purchase, and use of firearms can and must point the way to greater love.  Failure to regulate only results in the judgment of death.

Peace!

Ron Letnes

NRA and Business

Part III

Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated President John F. Kennedy with a mail order rifle purchased for $19.95.  The rifle was advertised in the NRA's American Rifleman magazine.  During November 2013, the same month the United States is remembering the 50th Anniversary of JFK's assassination, this same magazine was advertising the following:

...high capacity concealed carry pistols, semiautomatic

military style assault weapons, including a mobil device

to aid the accuracy of snipers "that can take the guesswork

out of...long-range ballistic solutions."

The magazine also features a full-page ad presenting a

"Historic NRA exclusive offer from NRA corporate 

donor Universal Coin and Bullion to purchase a JFK

half dollar - - "the last circulating 90% Pure Silver

Half Dollar Minted in U.S. History" for only $11.95.

(For the record, UCB has given between $500K and 

$999,000 to NRA Corporate Partners and is a member 

of the "NRA Business Alliance.")

(Huffington Post-22 November 2013)

The point of the above reference is to cite the relationship of the NRA as an weapons business.  One of the main purposes of the NRA is to sell guns.  Furthermore, its marketing techniques challenge sensitive ethical boundaries, having the audacity to use JFK's assassination anniversary to market the silver half-dollar in the same magazine advertising high-capacity rifles helpful to snipers.  Was not Oswald a sniper?  Did not Oswald purchase his rifle from the NRA magazine?  

But business is business.  According The Rolling Stone magazine, "The NRA says it is not a trade organization.  Lie.  NRA patrons include 22 firearms manufacturers, 12 of which make assault weapons.  Industry donors, including Blackwater (now Xe), have funnelled up to $52 million to NRA bank account in recent years."

In 1995, Wally Arida, publisher of Gun Games, introduced his magazine at the NRA Convention.  "According to Firearms Business, Arida 'sees his magazine as a route for the industry to take a new direction in promotion and marketing.' He is quoted as saying, 'I'm trying to publish a magazine and build a whole industry around it.'" Arida asks: "Which gun is better for self defense? What bullet design causes the biggest wound channel?" And the NRA allowed him to advertise at their convention.  But, business is business.

Tom Diaz, in his book Making a Killing, comments: "The Violence Policy Center has documented financial links between the NRA and the industry, and the NRA and others are active participants in industry planning sessions.  The following conclusion from a 1993 Boston Globe series on the NRA summarizes well what is known about the NRA and the firearms industry: 

The bond between the gun manufacturers and the

NRA involves direct financial contributions, almost-

always-favorable reviews of newly developed products

in NRA publications like American Rifleman, and 

including NRA literature in the packaging of new guns.

Tom Diaz writes: "The United States is the world's greatest market for civilian firearms....Foreign gun companies have increasingly exploited the U.S. gun market." Now, look at the prolific marketing of weapons in the NRA's American Rifleman. But business is business.

The New Republic of 28 May 2013, reports that gun ownership is declining from 1/2 of American households in the 1970s to 1/3 of households today.  Senator Joe Manchin (Democrat from West Virginia and an NRA member), noted that "A recent Al Qaeda tape urged would-be terrorists to load up on arms at American gun shows."  And which organization is prominent at gun shows? But business is business.

The NRA is majorly involved in the business of promoting and selling all types of firearms.  Contrasted with its gun safety program called "Eddie the Eagle", is the powerful marketing of weapons. Indeed, this segment of the NRA is the largest part of its organization's reason for existence.  After all, business is business, regardless of the carnage it creates.

"By their fruits you shall know them."

Matthew 12:33

Peace!

Ron Letnes

N.R.A. and Values

Part II

Part II of this series on "N.R.A.: Testing the Spirits" will focus on values.  Values drive an organization, move it forward, provide the lens through which it activates its purpose. What are some core N.R.A. values?  I would suggest that the following values are on balance more expressive of the N.R.A. leadership rather than regular members.  Let's see some values.

INFLEXIBLE, ABUSIVE BULLIES:  Four respected national leaders resigned their membership saying: "[The NRA has become] very inflexible and almost radical; they appeal to a fringe element of gun owners." General Norman Schwarzkopf; "[I object to the] ludicrous and offensive implication that federal agents are encouraged to commit acts of violence against ordinary citizens." Congressman John Dingell; "They've become abusive, accusatory, sick, violent, threatening bullies.  They want absolute subservience, and they are not going to get it from me." Former Colorado Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell; "[I object to the BATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms) being referred to as a bunch of] jack-booted thugs." Former President George H.W. Bush (1)

ANTI-RESEARCH: In 1995 the N.R.A. mounted a successful campaign to cut funding for the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control whose responsibility is to do research on why accidents and tragedies happen, believing that understanding the reason will help lead to higher safety standards and fewer accidents and deaths.  The reasons for their opposition: "They want to foster a negative image against law-abiding gun owners.... All their research comes to the conclusion that owning a gun is bad and dangerous to your health." Their research is "obviously flawed". (2)

Also criticized were two highly respected medical journals: The New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of the American Medical Association saying, "We have a problem with these organizations, too, for not holding the articles to their usual standards." (3)

RACIST AND DISRESPECTFUL: Jeff Gordon, N.R.A. Board Member, referred to the Japanese as "Nips" and suggested calling South Africans from Gauteng Province "Orang-gutangs". Comparing Los Angeles with Ho Chi Minh City he said, "LA and Ho Chi Minh City have declared themselves sister cities.  It makes sense as they are both Third World metropolises formerly occupied by Americans." (4)

Ted Nugent, N.R.A. Board Member and celebrity spokesperson, called Hillary Clinton a "toxic c--t".

"This bitch is nothing but a two-bit whore for Fidel Castro." Also, "I met a couple of guys in line yesterday who go, 'Write something to my girlfriend, she won't let me go hunting'.  I wrote her something and I said, "Drop dead, bitch.' What good is she, trade her in, get a Dalmatian. Who needs a wench." (5)

INSPIRED "RIGHT TO CARRY" AND "STAND YOUR GROUND" LAWS: Stand Your Ground laws make it legal for a person who is attacked in public to use lethal force as a first resort.  A new study out of  Texas A&M found that "...lowering the expected costs associated with lethal force..." these SYG laws "...induce more of it".  In Florida justifiable homicides tripled between 2005-2011 because of SYG laws. (6)

STOKE FIRES OF FEAR: Wayne LaPierre writes: "Americans are facing the reality that they are on their own.... People are anticipating dangerous times and are responding in the only sensible, logical way possible - they are buying guns." "America's women are leading the way!... The more women who buy and shoot guns, the safer and better off we'll all be." (7)  The N.R.A. has run ads to promote gun purchasing: "Should you shoot a rapist before he cuts your throat?" and "If you are attacked on your porch, do you want your neighbors to be opposed to gun ownership or a member of the N.R.A.?" (8)

EXTREMIST-MILITIA MOVEMENT FRIENDLY:  "The N.R.A. has made martyrs out of two odd characters, not because either is particularly heroic, but because both came in the cross hairs of the BATF."  Jack Anderson is speaking of Randy Weaver, an avowed white separatist, and David Koresh, child sex molester, who is quoted as saying, "I am God's chosen instrument, and the laws that govern mere mortals do not apply to me." (9) The N.R.A. is consistently referenced in the Southern Poverty Law Center's magazine Intelligence Report which is dedicated to exposing right-wing extremist militia groups, as defending citizens' right to bear arms.  In fairness, the SPLC does not say the N.R.A. directly supports  violent militia actions. Yet, one needs to ask, why the linkage?  Even Jack Anderson asks for an investigation of the linkage between the N.R.A. and the militia movement. (10)

A word about the sources for the above commentary.  Jack Anderson's book, Inside the NRA, copyright 1996, is cited in numbers 1-5, and 9. Jack was a member of the NRA, a Republican, a respected journalist, and a dedicated Mormon, hardly the type of person who would have an ideological axe to grind. I find that what Jack wrote in 1996 is consistent with the present NRA actions.             The Rolling Stone, a 2013 article, is quoted in numbers 6-8.  The Intelligence Report is referenced to support Jack Anderson's inquiry.

Since this is the second commentary on the theme of "NRA: Testing the Spirits", connecting the NRA with a Biblical witness is necessary.  Hence, I conclude with words from the hymn, "Healer of Our Every Ill", ELW 612:

Healer of our every ill, light of each tomorrow,

Give us peace beyond our fear, and hope beyond our sorrow.

Too often the NRA leadership fails the test of being a healer, but instead foments fear, creates the rationale for justifying more violence, makes people into objects, and instills a spirit of "the enemy", us vs. them. I find these outcomes contrary to Biblical witness.

Peace!

Ron Letnes  

The N.R.A - Testing the Spirits

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, 

but test the spirits to see if they are from God;

for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

I John 4:1

It is right and proper to sift all life events and organizations through the sieve of the Word.  The Word is the foundation for discerning what is True of God.  As Christians we are bound to the Word as the source of action.

The National Rifle Association needs a proper sifting.  The NRA is the number one defender of gun rights in America.  The NRA has enormous political clout.  The NRA strikes fear into all politicians: woe to the pol who criticises the NRA or supports gun control measures, as you will be opposed or primaried in the next election cycle.  The NRA is fiercely opposed to most gun safety, gun restriction measures: opposed to universal background checks, opposed to research on gun violence, opposed to bans on automatic and semi-automatic weapons, opposed to restrictions on purchase of "cop killer" bullets, opposed to restrictions on large capacity ammo magazines.  After all, "guns don't kill people, people kill people".  Furthermore, their appeal to the Second Amendment as the holy grail of gun liberty is blindly obsessive! 

Nearly all attempts at common sense gun violence prevention are opposed by the NRA.  Why?  They believe it will infringe on a person's right to bear arms.  They say it is in the Constitution.  They believe people need to have the right to protect themselves, and the government may come and take away your rights. They say a person has the right to protect themselves from government tyranny.

Yet, we have a problem in America.  The United States leads the world in mass shooting homicides.  According to the World Bank-Organization for Economic Cooperation and development, nations who are classified as high income, "...the United States has the highest homicide rate, the highest number of guns per capita, and the highest rate of deaths due to assault.  The USA has more homicides by gun than all other nations than all of the other high income countries combined". 

In spite of this tragic reality, the NRA's intimidation tactics, its blind arbitrariness to opposing nearly all gun violence prevention measures, its obsession with stoking fear of the enemy and vigilance of government tyranny, grind reform to a halt.  Even the massacres at Sandy Hook, Aurora, Virginia Tech, Columbine make no difference to their passion.  

The spirit of the NRA needs to be tested against the Spirit of Jesus.  I am beginning a series of blogs to "test the spirits".   As an introduction, here is a "Special Report" from the NRA leadership to its membership:

THE FINAL WAR HAS BEGUN

A DOCUMENT SECRETLY DELIVERED TO ME reveals frightening evidence that the full scale war to CRUSH your gun rights has not only begun, but is well underway.... What's more, dozens of federal gun ban bills suggest this final assault has begun - not just to ban all handguns or all semi-automatics but to ELIMINATE private firearm ownership completely and forever....

WHAT YOU MUST DO AT ONCE

1.  BURY CONGRESS WITH YOUR LETTERS! Write and ask your congressman to vote against these gun bans....

2.  DEAFEN CONGRESS WITH YOUR CALLS!  Tell your congressman about the secret anti-gun agenda to abolish gun ownership in America.

GET EVERY GUN OWNER YOU KNOW to send money to join the NRA or to renew or upgrade "Your Value-Packed NRA Menbership." 

CONFISCATE, DISARM, DESTROY

HARASSMENT, LAWSUITS, AND CRIMINALIZATION of lawful gun owners.  While armed, violent CRIMINALS rage through a defenseless society, the Second Amendment goes up in flames.  That's the tomorrow your children face.  Only you can stop it, through NRA membership....

GUN OWNERS, STAY FOCUSED

THE FIGHT FOR OUR FREEDOMS 

IS FAR FROM OVER!

(Source: Inside the NRA by Jack Anderson)

This apocalyptic spirit of the NRA needs to be tested.  Lives are at stake.  The character of our nation is  at a crossroads.  A Christian response cries out!

Stay tuned.

Peace!

Ron Letnes

  

Evil Redux

Linda and I watched all 13 episodes of "House of Cards", the American version of the original English work of the same name.  It is a political thriller of ambition, narcissism, retribution run amok. Sadly, the series seems appropriate for much of the dysfunction within many legislative leaders today. 

Francis Underwood is the key player.  He is the Democratic Majority Whip who supported the victorious Democratic candidate for President in hopes of being nominated for Secretary of State.  To Francis' chagrin the president nominated someone else, with the president explaining that he needed Francis in the House in order to pass his legislation.  This change of plans unleashes Francis' anger,  causing him to orchestrate the demise of political careers and the death of a House member.

The word describing Francis' character is evil.  Yes, we all do evil. His actions, so dramatically portrayed by Kevin Spacey, can help us recognize evils in Washington, DC and within ourselves. Recognition is necessary for transformation with the caveat that we cannot know all of the evil within. It is God's grace that reveals evil and God's grace transforms our hearts of evil and makes us new. God's grace  "knows" our hearts completely, readies us for renewal, and transforms us to new life. Psalm 139:23-24 lifts up God's microscope of the heart.  "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts.  See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

What is evil?  In The City of God, Augustine defines evil as "a perversion or destruction of a previous good" as it seeks to dissolve or destroy what is.  Francis' goal is to dissolve and destroy the good of people's lives to satisfy his ambition, to justify his ideology to achieve what he believes is his.  What "evils" does Francis do?  

A partial list would include: 1) Destroying others' legitimate careers;  2) Taking advantage of others' weaknesses;  3) Infidelity;  4) Harmfully using others;  5) Obsessively controlling others and limiting their legitimate actions;  6) Spirit of retribution and revenge;  7) Destructive manipulation;  8) Murder; 9) Sex for favors;  10) Betrayal of truth;  11) Harming the well-being of the nation by promoting one's ambition.

One scene captures his depth of evil.  Francis enters a church, walks to the chancel area, kneels, and defiantly confesses, not out of belief but of his personal credo: "I pray to myself, for myself," while acknowledging the insignificance of heaven and hell. His face is cold as he walks away from the cross.

At this moment in our nation's history, too much "evil" is poisoning our well-being and destroying the common good.  The sequester is denying necessary resources to the most needy.  The shutdown doubles down on squeezing those same vulnerable citizens. The movement to cancel the Affordable Care Act is unconscionable.  The demand for cuts to Social Security and Medicare "triples down" on the most vulnerable. The quest to destroy President Obama's presidency at the expense of the people's good is treasonous. And all the while the rich get richer and the rest of the country suffers. The list goes on.

What is the way through this evil morass?  Confession.  Acknowledgement of our evilness.  Naming the evil.  Kneeling before the transforming Christ and calling for mercy.  It is then that God's grace leads us forth as new people and prepares us for transformative actions for the common good.  Hymn 843 in the ELW sings:

Praise the One who breaks the darkness with a liberating light;

praise the One who frees the pris'ners, turning blindness into sight.

Praise the One who preached the gospel, healing every dread disease,

calming storms and feeding thousands with the very bread of peace.

Peace!

Hopeful Words-Hopeful Actions

I recall a WWII movie starring Richard Widmark, in which a common phrase served as motivation for action: "Hope is the mother of all men."  At various times during battle, and as he lay dying on the battlefield, the character uttered these words.

Jurgen Moltmann tells the story of how he came to write A THEOLOGY OF HOPE.  He was a captured German soldier living in a POW camp in England after the German surrender.  He writes that his dreams for Germany lay in the ashes of Auschwitz.  He felt hopeless.  The turnaround happened when an Allied chaplain gave him a Holy Bible.  As he read through the witness, the word HOPE became his light.  In Christ was hope.

Certainly there is considerable evidence to validate hopelessness today,  Yet, there are also considerable words and actions which yield hope.  

The ELCA Churchwide Assembly this past August passed a resolution asking ELCA members, "consistent with their bound consciences," to ask their elected officials to pass legislation that promotes universal background checks, prevent gun trafficking, and require reporting of gun loss or theft to law enforcement.  The ELCA is on public record.  Yes, there is "wiggle room" to not take action.  The ELCA has high respect for the individual conscience which can create ethical "mushiness." But it can also inspire, give permission, give cover for those who need cover, for action on gun violence prevention.  HOPEFUL WORDS-HOPEFUL ACTION

Our congregation in Circle Pines, Minnesota, is hosting a RESPECTFUL CONVERSATION on "Guns in Minnesota."  The event is sponsored by the Minnesota Council of Churches.  To quote the MCC, "The focus will not be on changing minds, but on softening hearts while discussing a divisive issue in Minnesota.  Join us to learn and practice how we can discuss this significant issue without disliking each other more, but instead by understanding each other better."  Yes, I know this seems like a weasel-like approach, but keep in mind that the MCC sponsored 50 of these RCs last year focusing on discussing LGBT marriage in response to the anti-LGBT marriage amendment that was proposed for the Minnesota Constitution.  The proposed amendment "failed" to be passed, making Minnesota the only state to defeat similar successful proposed amendments in 30 other states. Perhaps these RCs can assist in encouraging the Minnesota legislature to pass a universal/expanded background check bill this coming session.  HOPEFUL ACTION-HOPEFUL WORDS

Pope Francis said recently in a provocative interview: "This church with which we should be thinking is the home of all, not a small chapel that can hold only a small group of selected people.  We must not reduce the bosom of the universal church to a nest protecting our mediocrity." Pope Francis seems to be openly inclusive, faithfully and lovingly critical, willing to engage the warp and woof of diversity, and embrace an ecumenical spirit within the Body of Christ.  He further says: "...the church has become obsessed with gays, abortion, and contraception to the detriment of its larger mission to be home for all."  HOPEFUL WORDS

Finally, Secretary of State, John Kerry, is engaging in diplomatic efforts with Russia and Syria to eliminate the danger of chemical warfare in Syria, with Israel and Palestine to create a peaceful solution to their decades long impasse, and now with Iran regarding its nuclear intentions.  Diplomacy instead of war.  HOPEFUL WORDS-HOPEFUL ACTIONS

I love the hymn which begins "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness." And another hymn which was also Linda's and my wedding hymn, "Lord of all Hopefulness." Paul's mantra in Romans 5 weds hope with life: "Suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope.  And hope does not disappoint."

HOPEFUL WORDS-HOPEFUL ACTIONS

PEACE!

Words B4 War

Thankfully, there is hopeful news to solving the Syrian crisis.  War drums are morphing into words, phone calls, person to person diplomacy, and the clicking of characters on paper spelling out specifics. It appears that Syrian leadership will accept the Russian proposal to hand over Syrian gas WMD to an international body like the United Nations, thereby averting a military strike. It appears.  Let us hope appearance leads to resolution.

Interestingly, this surprising development occurred after Sec. of State John Kerry made a comment that a way through the crisis could be just what is happening.  The remark at a news conference was more of a hope than a proposal. Or was it?  President Obama and President Putin had discussed the possibility at the recent G-20 Conference in St. Petersburg.  Whatever the truth, the important fact will be the end result: no military strike and the elimination of poison gas as a tool of war during this sectarian conflict.

Hence, the importance of keeping doors open, of continuing the struggle to find solutions as impossible as they may seem, of restraining the use of military action until all else fails, and then perhaps second guessing oneself and deciding to not strike.  But KEEP TALKING, KEEP BEING CREATIVE, KEEP DOORS OPEN.

This is a key component of NONVIOLENCE.  Let words, nonviolent intentions, struggling creativity, quest for peace, and personal relationships lead the way.  I am reminded of stories during union negotiations with CEOs.  Sometimes they had stayed in the room until there was a solution.  Also, there is an island in Scotland called the Island of Reconciliation, where clan leaders and individuals would go to work out their differences and not leave until resolution.

Yes, the threat of force by the "mightiest military in the world" may have nudged Assad towards this apparent solution.  Yet, what also helped was the strong voice of the American people and other nations to hold back.  People and nations spoke their opposition.  Words again.  Words replaced war.

Words and nonviolence go together because together there is action.  Here are some more W-NV actions for resolutions:

MORE NATIONS OPENING THEIR BORDERS FOR SYRIAN REFUGEES UNTIL THE

          CIVIL WAR IS CONCLUDED

TRANSPARENCY IN EXPOSING THE WARS REALITY SO THE WORLD KNOWS THE

          TRUTH WITHIN THE CONFLICT

THE WORLD COURT DECLARING ASSAD A WAR CRIMINAL AND BRINGING HIM

          TO THE COURT OF JUSTICE

AFFIRMATION OF UNITED NATIONS PROTOCOL AGAINST POISON GAS

APPEALING TO UNITED ARAB LEAGUE FOR RESPONSE

STATEMENTS BY THE WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES, NATIONAL COUNCIL

          OF CHURCHES, ELCA, AND ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCHES, AS WELL AS

          ISLAMIC LEADERSHIP IN OPPOSITION TO POISON GAS AND THE WAR

STATEMENTS BY NATO

STATEMENTS BY ISRAEL

IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS

CONTINUED UNITED NATIONS INVOLVEMENT

CONTINUED EFFORT TO BRING ALL SIDES TOGETHER FOR A DIPLOMATIC

         SOLUTION

COMMITMENT OF THE SYRIAN PEOPLE TO NONVIOLENT DEMONSTRATIONS

         FOR PEACE

Multiple nonviolent options exist for conflict resolution.  Words B4 War.  Come to think of it, Jesus used words and nonviolent action transform the world!  Is there a lesson here?

Peace!