wfn.org | Gun control a 'spiritual concern, public responsibility'

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

March 17, 2000 News media contact: Thomas S.
McAnally·(615)742-5470·Nashville, Tenn. 10-21-71B{152}

By United Methodist News Service

The church dares not be silent in a time when deaths and assaults by guns of
all kinds have reached "devastating proportions," says the Rev. Thom White
Wolfe Fassett, in a statement released March 17.

Fassett, top staff executive of the United Methodist Board of Church and
Society in Washington, said the agency regards effective gun control and
regulation as a matter of "spiritual concern and public responsibility."

"We believe that the church as an instrument of reconciliation needs to
bring an end to the senseless violence, suffering and human loss caused by
unrestricted availability of handguns and assault weapons used by ordinary
people to act out their aggression, conflicts, or disputes with friends,
families and others," Fassett said.

Only the General Conference of the denomination speaks for the entire
denomination.  The Board of Church and Society is the international public
policy and social action agency of the church.

#  #  #

The full text of the Rev. Thom White Wolf Fassett's statement follows:

This is a statement of General Secretary Dr. Thom White Wolf Fassett. The 
General Board is directed to "speak its convictions, interpretations, and 
concerns to the Church and to the world."

The General Board of Church and Society of The United Methodist Church is
among those religious communions calling for social policies and personal
lifestyles that seek to contain gun violence.

We believe that the church as an instrument of reconciliation needs to bring
an end to the senseless violence, suffering, and human loss caused by the
unrestricted availability of handguns and assault weapons used by ordinary
people to act out their aggression, conflicts, or disputes with friends,
families, and others.

Gun violence is a deep concern to the community of faith. Our members are
called to a vision of the peaceable kingdom, a society in which God's
justice reigns, where reconciliation replaces alienation, where an open hand
and a turned cheek replace retaliation, where love of enemies is as
important as love of neighbor.

In the United States today, deaths and assaults by guns of all kinds have
reached devastating proportions.

Most of these gun-related deaths and injuries are committed with handguns
originally acquired for personal protection, target shooting, gun
collection, and even hunting. Some are by shotguns and rifles, most often
acquired for legitimate sporting or collecting. An increasing number of
deaths and maimings are by semi-automatic or automatic guns, often referred
to as assault weapons. These result in the most dramatic and visible
tragedies, especially when used in mass shootings such as in Littleton,
Colorado, the case in which a six-year-old in Flint, Michigan was killed,
and in the slaying of high school sweethearts from northeast Washington,
D.C.

As people of faith, we recognize the inherent goodness in all creation. This
is a point of departure toward our understanding of God as the giver and
sustainer of all life. We also recognize that the ultimate purpose of
creation is to reveal God's reign of justice and peace.

Once again, the church dare not be silent. Because the U.S. is experiencing
increasing gun violence, The General Board of Church and Society of The
United Methodist Church regards effective gun control and regulation as a
matter of spiritual concern and public responsibility.

Only the General Conference Speaks for the entire denomination. The General
Board of Church and Society is the international public policy and social
action agency of The United Methodist Church.

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United Methodist News Service
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