America: God and Guns
By Senator Judson Hill
As the days turn into
weeks, let's continue to pray for the families in Connecticut as well as other
people across the country, who have also recently been victims of shootings and
mass violence. We should not readily move to restrict our 2nd Amendment rights
and use someone else's tragedy and loss to advance longstanding, personal
opposition to peoples' rights to bear arms.
After tragedies such as
Connecticut, Virginia Tech, and Columbine; Americans are asking why there is
violence in our schools and in society. Governor Mike Huckabee observed,
"given we have systematically removed God from our schools should we be so
surprised that schools would become a place of carnage?"
These tragedies did not
occur because America allows its citizens to own guns. For years, it has been
illegal to carry a gun into a school. The solution does not lie in creating
another law reinforcing it’s illegal to kill people and to bring guns into
schools or perhaps even protect school children with armed security guards.
Additionally, we must also be very cautious about changing our Constitution.
The Bill of Rights did not merely grant Americans the right to bear arms, but
actually was recognition of the peoples' God-given inalienable rights.
Restricting guns is not
the answer; and disarming law-abiding Americans does not prevent evil acts. The
real issue stems from the moral and spiritual decline taking place in America.
In the coming days, many will place the blame for the tragedy in Newtown on
guns or poor security but will likely miss the bigger issue of cultural and
moral apathy as well as the failure to instill moral and faith values in our
children.
The answer to the
tragedy in Newtown and other events is not to attack the Second Amendment to
the U.S. Constitution nor attempt to restrict the Constitutional rights of
law-abiding Americans. We must focus on mental health issues, violent videos
and movies, and we must not ignore the core fundamental causes or we will never
achieve the results our society seeks.
We should address the
mental health challenges in our society and also examine Hollywood's violent
movies and video games that use weapons to seemingly glorify violence.
Interestingly, many liberals will hypocritically blame guns and gun ownership
all the while working to still produce very violent videos which are desensitizing
some people to the malicious and gruesome acts they portray. Furthermore, our
leaders and courts should stop creating laws that devalue human life and make
right wrong and wrong seem right. There is no simple answer and especially not
one that fails to examine the consequences of America's moral decline.
When America limits and
prohibits discussing moral values and principles in schools and in the public
square, then we cannot be too surprised when people commit senseless acts of
violence. Governor Huckabee recently stated that, “It is time we accept this
reality – America doesn't have a crime problem, a gun problem or even a
violence problem. What we have is a sin problem and since we've ordered God out
of our schools, our communities, the military and public conversations, you
know we really shouldn't act so surprised ... when all hell breaks loose."
How can we deny that God exists and then blame Him for the resulting chaos?
The answer to these
violent tragedies is not to further restrict Americans' rights. The public
dialogue should also examine America's moral bearings and the importance that
faith in God has on a culture and nation. When Americans again individually and
collectively claim God's promise in scripture by humbling themselves and turning
to Him, then we will begin to see a true change in behaviors and insure God's
blessings for our families and nation.
