Jessica Weishorn

Professor Fran Leap

Faith, Religion & Society
8 December 2014
Gun control and Catholic Social Teaching
The headlines in newspapers and on newscasts all seem to be about shootings. All
of these stories have one thing in common; an increase in the number of people wanting
stricter gun control laws. Gun control has been a huge controversy in todays society.
You have people wanting less gun control laws, people wanting more gun control laws,
and people who think that the gun control laws are fine the way they are today. Many
people who argue about gun control do not even know what it is. According to M. Lee
and Alexander Stingles article Gun Control: An Overview, gun control is any action
taken by the federal government or by state or local governments to regulate, through
legislation, the sale, purchase, safety, and use of handguns and other types of firearms by
individual citizens. People who side with the more gun control laws say that guns only
have one purpose and that is to kill. This is simply not true because target shooting is a
sport. The right to bear arms is guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the United
States Constitution (Bowman and Newton). There has been controversy about the
definition of a well regulated militia and people saying that only the military should
have guns, but there is no way that the government can take away all the guns without
many people because upset. Even if all guns were taken away and outlawed, that does not
mean gun violence would be reduced. Jeffrey Bowman and Heather Newton said in their
article Point: Controlling Gun Violence Is More Important Than Controlling Guns that:
There are thousands of people in the United States who own firearms and use them
responsibly and legally. There are plenty of people who do notThe framers of the
United States Constitution granted Americans the right to bear arms. With this right
comes the responsibility to exercise it wisely. Instead of trying to control guns, perhaps
the time has come for Americans to take a hard look at why so many of our citizens feel
the need to use guns irresponsibly.
The National Rifle Association, or NRA, is a nonprofit organization whose
primary mission is "to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States,
especially the right to keep and bear arms. With approximately 5 million members
nationwide, it is the leader in US pro-gun organizations. Many people who think of the
National Rifle Association usually think that it is a bunch of right wing conservatives
who are against any type of gun control legislation and that they lobbied against
legislation for many years. While part of this statement may be true, it is not all entirely
true. The NRA has influenced legislation, participated in or initiated lawsuits, and
endorsed or opposed various candidates. Currently the National Rifle Society teaches
firearm competency and safety. Along with the political lobbyist side, NRA-ILA, it
instructs many people including civilians and law enforcement, youths and adults. The
NRA teaches firearm safety courses and promotes safe gun ownership.
Under the Catholic Social Teaching theme of The Dignity of Every Person and
Human Rights, it states, human life is sacred (Major Themes from Catholic Social
Teaching). On the topic of gun control, there should be stricter gun control laws to
protect human life. By having tighter gun control laws, less bad guys will be having a
gun in their possession and there will be less of a chance that an innocent life would be
taken due to a gun. This point also goes along with the Catholic Social Teaching theme of
Peace and Disarmament. In this theme, it says, [peace] involves mutual respect and
confidence between peoples (Major Themes from Catholic Social Teaching). If
people do not feel safe walking down the streets, then is that really peace? People should
be able to walk down the street and not fear that something will happen to them. The first
Catholic Social Teaching theme that I mentioned also talks about Human Rights. Under
the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution, every U.S. citizen has the right
to bear arms. This means that the citizens have a right to keep and carry an armed
weapon. This part of this them also connects to part of the theme Solidarity, Common
Good and Participation. The part that it relates to is Participation. This theme states, All
people have a right to participate in the economic, political, and cultural life of society.
Basically all people have the right to participate. This means that everyone has the right
to participate in shooting sports, such as hunting and target shooting. The last Catholic
Social Teaching theme that can relate to gun control is Subsidiarity and the Proper Role
of the Government, specifically the Proper Role of the Government. Everyone has the
right to participate and own a gun and use it properly, but the government has big role in
this too. The governments role in this case is to make sure that there are regulations and
that the regulations are the correct amount. The government does not want to put to much
regulation on guns but they especially do not want to put not enough regulation on guns
so that anyone can obtain a firearm. The National Rifle Association, or NRA, is an agent
of the Common Good. It promotes gun safety and teaches classes on how to properly use
a firearm.
Judaism most likely sides on the side of more control. Like the Catholic Social
Teaching theme of The Dignity of Every Person and Human Rights, Judaism believes in
preserving human life. It seems that like in America and through the Catholic Social
Teaching themes, there is a divide about gun control in Judaism. If there is more gun
control, then less people will have guns and there will be less of a chance for a bad guy to
obtain a firearm. However, if there is less gun control and laws about guns, then maybe
more good guys will be able to obtain a firearm and stop the bad guys with guns.
Overall gun control is a hot debate all over the world, no matter what religion.
There is a debate for both sides whether for more or less gun control. With the National
Rifle Association being a big gun advocate lobbyist group and mostly siding for less gun
control, it is difficult for the government to get anywhere with enacting more gun control
laws.
 Works Cited
Bowman Jeffrey and Heather Newton. "Point: Controlling Gun Violence Is More
Important than Controlling Guns." Ebsocohost. N.p., June 2014. Web.
<http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/26617367/point-controlling-gun-
violence-more-important-than-controlling-guns>.
Feldman, Marla. "Why Advocacy Is Central to Reform Judaism - URJ." Why Advocacy
Is Central to Reform Judaism - URJ. Union for Reform Judaism, n.d. Web. 01
Dec. 2014.
"Gun Control Overview." Congressional Digest 92.3 (2013): 3-7. Academic Search Elite.
Web. 5 Nov. 2014.
"Major Themes from Catholic Social Teaching." Catholic Social Teaching Major
Themes. Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolois, n.d. Web. 01 Dec.
2014.
Maududi, Abul Ala. "The Social System of Islam." The Social System of Islam. Islam
101, n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2014.
"Welcome to the NRA Digital Network." NRA.ORG. N.p., Web. 01 Dec. 2014.