wfn.org | Methodist leaders call for gun control after Atlanta slayings

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

July 30, 1999  News media contact: Tim Tanton*(615)742-5470*Nashville, Tenn.
10-21-71B{399}

By Alice Smith*

ATLANTA (UMNS) -- In the wake of two mass killings in less than three weeks,
Georgia United Methodist leaders are reeling from the tragedies and calling
for stronger gun control measures.

"All of us are shocked at the savagery of this latest tragedy in our city,"
said Bishop G. Lindsey Davis, leader of the more than 300,000 United
Methodists in North Georgia.  "Words cannot express our heartfelt sorrow for
the victims and their families, but God's love will sustain even in times
like this."

Mark O. Barton, 44, a day trader and former chemist, randomly killed nine
people in two Atlanta brokerage offices on July 29, after allegedly
bludgeoning his wife and two children to death earlier in the week. On July
12, another Atlanta man shot and killed six family members. In both cases,
the perpetrators shot and killed themselves.

"This kind of demented behavior is hard to understand and leaves us
speechless," Davis said.

He and other United Methodist leaders called for more stringent gun control
methods to help stem the tide of violence in society.

"I am not trying to repeal the (constitutional) right to bear arms," said
the Rev. Don Harp of Atlanta, "but something has to be done about guns, such
as background checks and safety locks, particularly on hand guns. Every two
days, 20 children are killed in gun-related incidents.  That's a classroom
of kids every 48 hours."

Harp is pastor of the nearly 5,000-member Peachtree Road United Methodist
Church, just a block and a half from where the July 29 office shootings
occurred in affluent Buckhead.

His sermon and the church's prayer time Sunday will focus on the shootings,
he said. "I don't know yet completely what I'm going to do, but I'm trying
to find some way to help people cope. It's just a shock for the whole
nation, particularly for the city of Atlanta."

A special prayer service will be held at noon Aug. 4 for the victims and
families and workers in the two office buildings, he said. The prayer
ministry at the church - whereby people sign up to pray for special needs an
hour at a time -- has been focused on the victims and others affected by the
shootings since they became public.

Bethel United Methodist Church in Atlanta has been working to curb gun
control access and is an active participant in a group called Georgians
Against Gun Violence, said the Rev. Moses Woodruff, pastor of the church and
chairman of the committee that addresses societal issues on behalf North
Georgia United Methodists.

It is illogical, he said, to think "we can get rid of gun violence by
ensuring every citizen (has) the right to bear arms. We have to stop
violence at the beginning by (curbing) gun access."

At the same time, he noted that the July 29 mass killings were more than
just an act of gun violence. "Clearly something mental was going on with
him, and a combination of things (had driven him to kill), but the problem
was exacerbated by access to guns."

Davis and Harp addressed the theological issues related to the presence of
God in the midst of unspeakable horror.

"This kind of tragedy is never the intentional will of God but human
sinfulness expressed an extraordinary ways," Davis said. "Sometimes we in
our culture today underestimate the capacity for sin in the human heart. We
feel like we've evolved to a level of sophistication that precludes this
kind of savagery, but yesterday is just a reminder to us the human heart is
capable of unfathomable horror. We've seen it in Kosovo and Rwanda, and
we've seen it in Atlanta."

God gives human beings free will and the ability to choose between good and
evil, Harp said. "Unfortunately, many people choose that which is bad and
evil.  We see the church's responsibility as encouraging people to see the
value in making good and right choices."

Although God is not to blame for the shootings, God is calling people to
repentance and seeking to get their attention Davis said. "God calls sinful
human beings to repent and accept for themselves the love that God offers.
Out of that evolves a life of holiness, inwardly and outwardly. Holiness of
the heart results in holiness of living."

Christians bear both personal and social responsibilities in the waking of
the mass shooting, he said. On a personal level, they must wrap the victims
and families in love, support and encouragement, and at the same time seek
to become more sensitive to people who might be reaching a breaking point
emotionally and mentally.

On a societal level, he said, the shootings are one more clarion call for
gun regulation. "There are no easy solutions but Christian people who are
involved in legislature and government have got to start rethinking some of
these issues. What we're currently doing is not working. That's pretty
clear."

# # #

*Smith is executive director of the Georgia United Methodist Communications
Council.

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