We have all heard the meaningless slogan chanted “guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” But maybe guns can be partly to blame for the horrific violence that is done in our modern world. The most recent national case of gun violence is the unfortunate death of Trayvon Martin by captain of the neighborhood watch Mr. Zimmerman. You have seen the hoodie marches and the loud outcry of injustice that a 17 year old boy was killed by a man who still walks free. The media has portrayed Mr. Zimmerman with a photo in prison clothes, and Trayvon as a young sweet smiling boy. However, recently people have been posting pictures of Mr. Zimmerman in professional clothes with a big grin, and Trayvon in baggy pants with no shirt, throwing up what seems to be gang sings. Mr. Zimmerman’s criminal past has been well documented, and now people are advertising Trayvon’s drug use, and suspension of school. Essentially, what we are attempting to do is establish blame.
What is most telling is that blame seems to correspond to ones’ race. Whether we want to admit it or not, this is a race issue. However, we will probably never truly know exactly what happened. God alone can testify and we can only hypothesize.
But perhaps we are overlooking the real problem. Perhaps the reason this all happened is due to our lax ideas concerning guns. Yes, I know our Second Amendment grants us rights to Bear Arms, but that does not mean it’s good for our society.
If we take the same situation and eliminate the gun I can come as close to as a guarantee as possible that Trayvon would still be alive today. If Mr. Zimmerman approached Trayvon without a gun, there may have been harsh words, there may have been pushing or shoving, there may even be fists thrown, but Trayvon would still be alive.
Why are we so insistent on allowing violent weapons to be present in intense situations? We think we need guns to protect ourselves, yet we see too many children killed by these very things that are designed to “protect” ourselves.
Jesus says those who live by the sword will die by the sword. You can believe that if guns were around when Jesus was, the same would apply. Jesus had every right to defend himself, he had every right to pull out an armed weapon according to his 2nd Amendment right, he had every right to pull the trigger on his enemies, but he didn’t. Jesus instead laid down his life, picked up his cross and died, and then Jesus tells us to do the same thing. We worry about our rights far too much, when the Son of God thought nothing of his. When we use violence to stop violence, violence wins. Peace cannot come through violence, only through self-denying love.
So my conclusion is that people kill people, but a lot less people would be killed if guns did not exist and Jesus did in our hearts.
I respectfully disagree... kind of.
ReplyDeleteLess people would die from guns. However, all a man needs to kill another is the intent and his bare hands. Guns are tools. Vilifying inanimate objects does nothing but to spread illogical fear of those objects.
What I do agree with is that if Jesus truly did exist in the hearts of more people, there would be less people using those tools to kill others.
When Jesus said "if you live by the sword, you die by the sword" I believe he was referring to violence in general, not specifically long sharp metal objects. Fighting back, whether with fists or with guns, is not how we live at peace in this world. I understand where there are times one would want to defend their own life or the lives of their loved ones. I just think that too many Christians rush to violence quickly instead of turning the other cheek. More often than not, these are the same people who carry a firearm for protection or who immediately pull a gun on an intruder.
ReplyDeleteIn a town a few miles away, a man called the cops on an underage drinking party happening next door. When the kids all ran away, one of them broke into his porch to hide. The man responded by confronting the intruder with gun drawn. The kid came forward with his hand up and the man shot him in the chest, killing him. In so many of these situations, if we leave guns out of the equation, no one would have been killed. If this man had only a knife or a club, the kid would almost surely still be alive. With a gun, all it takes is the flick of a finger to end a life.
Living by the sword has more to do with profiting from violence than from carrying or employing a weapon. Jesus didn't tell the Centurion to quit his job so carrying and using a weapon is not the issue.
ReplyDeleteFrom the accounts I've heard, Trayvon broke Zimmerman's nose and bashed his head against the concrete--by legal standards, that situation not only qualified for the Stand Your Ground ruling but also Self Defense. The problem was not that Zimmerman was carrying a weapon, but that Trayvon, probably through a youthful lack of forethought, attacked a stranger and died for it.
Car accidents kill far more teenagers and young people in the US than guns but nobody is trying to ban cars--because cars aren't the problem. It's the people operating the machine that are responsible. The courts will decide if Zimmerman acted within the law but so far it appears that Trayvon died not because of a gun, but because he let his anger overpower his judgment.