wfn.org | UMNS# 172-Mission leader appeals for gun control in wake of

["NewsDesk" <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Mission leader appeals for gun control in wake of Minnesota shootings

Mar. 23, 2005

NEW YORK (UMNS)--The Rev. R. Randy Day, chief executive of the mission
agency of the United Methodist Church, made a strong appeal for gun
control in the wake of the shooting of 10 people in rural Minnesota on
March 21.

He reiterated a denominational call, made last year, for legislative
action to limit the manufacture, sale, and possession of firearms, and
urged schools, churches, and the entertainment industry, including video
game makers, to do more to focus attention away from violence and gun
use.

Day, who is top executive of the Board of Global Ministries, asked
President George W. Bush to "lead a massive American campaign to control
guns and end gun violence." He urged the President, who is a member of
the United Methodist Church, to resist the powerful gun lobby in favor
of programs of tightened sales restrictions and of "gun amnesty," or
surrender, in return for tax credits.

"The time for righteous action for gun control is now!" he said.

A teenaged gunman shot and killed 10 people and wounded a dozen more at
the Red Lake High School and, reportedly, also killed his grandparents,
on March 21. He then turned the gun on himself.

Day called attention to the work being done by his agency's Women's
Division to limit the exposure of minors to video games featuring gun
violence. Those efforts are both legislative and educational.

The 2000 United Methodist General Conference, the church's highest
legislative body, adopted a strong statement in favor of greater gun
control, which still stands and is part of the 2004 Book of Resolutions.

Day pointed out that the deaths of young people by gun violence are
hardly limited to rampages like that in Red Lake. "One major newspaper,"
he said, "callously reported that Red Lake shooting "was the worst at a
school since 15 people were killed at Columbine High School near
Littleton, Colo., in 1999," as though a five year interval between
school massacres was somehow a reason for hope. Every day, young people
in this country are gunned down both by their peers and their elders."

The full text of Day's statement can be found at
http://gbgm-umc.org/global_news/pr.cfm?articleid=3082&CFID=2988.

News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470
or newsdesk@umcom.org.

********************

United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org