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Addressing violence


From Daphne Mack <dmack@dfms.org>
Date 28 May 1999 09:15:59

For more information contact:
Episcopal News Service
Kathryn McCormick
kmccormick@dfms.org
212/922-5383
http://www.ecusa.anglican.org/ens

99-080

Killings trigger new kind of gunfight in Utah

by Jeff Sells

In its zeal to protect the members of religious 
communities in the State of Utah, the State Legislature in 
January passed a statute addressing Utahns' closely held right to 
carry concealed weapons. Churches--and private homeowners, for 
that matter--who feel that their buildings are not places to 
carry concealed guns are now required to post notices 
specifically prohibiting people from carrying weapons inside.

"How else are you going to determine who is liable if 
someone comes in and starts shooting up the place?" said one 
legislator, explaining the reasoning behind the change in the 
law.

In response to the new statute, the Diocese of Utah 
has produced a sign stating that guns are not welcome in its 
church buildings. Each congregation in the diocese has been asked 
to put the sign in a visible place on its property, in keeping 
with the requirements of the new statute.

"I think the State Legislature should feel ashamed 
that this is going on," said Bishop Carolyn Tanner Irish of Utah. 
"I am greatly saddened that we must put up these signs," Irish 
said. "It makes [the Legislature] look foolish, and it is very 
sad indeed."

The context of violence

Earlier this year, Salt Lake City experienced the 
random killing of a woman in a downtown business and, later, one 
man's rampage that killed two and wounded several others in the 
Mormon Family History Library, in downtown Salt Lake, only a few 
days after the shootings in Columbine High School in Littleton, 
Colorado. After all of these events, there has been a groundswell 
of calls for a special session of the State Legislature to 
reevaluate weapons laws in the state.

In response to these local violent incidents, 
representatives from 11 denominations of Salt Lake's religious 
community met April 24 to draft a resolution regarding firearms 
and their concealment, purchase, and penalties for infractions. 
The resolution adopted calls for Governor Michael Leavitt to 
convene a special legislative session to deal with specific 
issues related to weapons.

The religious leaders asked that legislators repeal 
the statute requiring churches to notify people that guns are not 
welcome there. Their resolution also calls for the designation of 
a place or places where instruments of violence may be deposited 
by anyone, with subsequent destruction of the items.

"We understand that there is both hardware and 
software of violence," said Irish. "The hardware are the guns, 
but also other instruments of violence. The software could 
include violent computer games or videos."

And finally, the resolution is a call to action for 
the religious community to work together on other issues 
impacting our society as we approach the next millennium.

Congregations in the Diocese of Utah have been asked 
to present the resolution to their members, offering these 
congregants the opportunity to support the resolution by signing 
it as well. They then would pass the signed resolution on to the 
office of the governor.

Churches are not alone in the paradox of laws in the 
state. For instance, in Utah it is currently legal to carry a 
concealed weapon onto school grounds. Some have even advocated 
the arming of a number of teachers in schools in Utah in order to 
protect the schools from violence. 
Vigil honors victims

On April 29, the religious community organized a vigil 
on the steps of the State Capitol. With music, prayer and 
reflection, victims of violence, both gun violence and other 
kinds, were remembered. During the vigil, which was attended by 
more than 200, all those who spoke were under the age of 21. 
Reflections included those of a person who had witnessed 
shootings in a school last year and others who felt unsafe in 
schools as a result of the recent shootings.

One woman who attended the vigil carried a picture of 
her teenaged daughter, killed last fall in a drive-by shooting by 
someone who thought, mistakenly, that she was a gang member.

Although some people have said the current concern 
about gun laws is a knee-jerk reaction, Irish pointed out that 
"we have been concerned with issues of spouse abuse for several 
years. This is just one more example of the growing threat of 
violence in our society."

"We are not na<ve in Utah," said Irish. "We are aware 
that strengthening gun control laws, even if all changes that 
anyone wants are implemented, will not in itself change the trend 
in violence in our society." 

Other areas that need attention in society, she said, 
include family life, safety in the schools, issues of violence 
and the media, and renewed commitment to honoring the essential 
value of every person.

--The Rev. Dr. Jeff Sells is editor of The Diocesan 
Dialogue, the newspaper of the Diocese of Utah.


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