Will we ever stop gun violence in America?

It happened again. Gun violence in America. In a school. Today, it’s about Nashville. Tomorrow? It’ll be another school. Some people cry out to stop the violence. Others cry out to keep the assault style weapons that are so often used in these mass killings. Will we ever stop gun violence in America?

Uh – no, we aren’t going to stop gun violence in America. Not the way we’re going.

Do we think it’s funny? Like stabbing potatoes and smearing them with ketchup?

And by the way, it’s not just violence.

These are real people. Kids. Murdered. You can’t just wipe off the blood and life goes on.

It’s also not just about guns. Not even “just” killings. It’s about cold blooded murder. Yes – murder. Let’s call it what it is for a change.

We hear the argument, guns don’t kill people, people kill people. And while that’s true, in a way, it’s also so misleading it sets a false narrative. Without the guns of choice, these murderers would not be able to murder so many innocent people. So many children.

Why is there so much gun violence in America?

You know, the answer to this is really quite simple. There’s a lot of gun violence in America because of one things. Money. Lots and lots of money.

In 2022, the gun lobbies sent over 16 million dollars to federal candidates and political parties. That’s $16,000,000.

It works out to $22,800 per person killed, murdered, in a mass shooting. Apparently, the official definition of mass shooting for the record keepers in when four or more people are killed or injured. So I guess that’s what a life is worth in America in 2021.

However, if we go the the income side of the ledger, those who are in favor of keeping gun “rights”, receive, on average, $58,000 each. And who are those people? The $16+ Million is for federal offices. Ninety-nine percent of tat\\hat money went to Republicans. Given the nearly even split in Congress between Democrats and Republicans, that’s 16 Million dollars split between 272 members of Congress (222 in the House and 50 in the Senate).

It’s likely that Senators got a larger piece of the pie and their House counterparts got less, given the relative importance of the two. Plus, the Senate term is six years, while the House term is only two. Finally, the more tenured/powerful members of each branch surely got more than the newbies. So at the high end, the numbers are probably much higherer. But still – there’s a lot of money flying around to keep the ight for Americans to murder each other. And for some to profit from it.

The numbers above are readily available from various websites. But did you know this one:

According to a House panel investigation, gun manufacturers made more than $1 billion from selling assault-style weapons to civilians in the last decade. Some companies’ earnings tripled from 2019 to 2021. For example, Daniel Defense took in more than $120 million in sales of AR-15-style rifles in 2021, compared with $40 million in 2019.  (From NBC News)

As I said – money. Lots of money.

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Conclusion – Will we ever stop gun violence in America?

There are no easy answers. I could go on and on, but I think my point is made.

However, for the Christians who read this, we do have an alternative to relying solely on our elected leaders. People who sometimes try to cash in on our religion, while also cashing in on things that are very much opposed by our religion.

What’s our best alternative? How about prayer. Calling out to God for help? And I don’t mean just saying some words with a goal of impressing people that we mentioned God’s name. Saying Gd’s name to get some votes. No, I mean really asking for His help.

You probably know about The Lord’s Prayer. But do you remember what Jesus said before and after it? Here’s a reminder. Especially check out the underlined verses.

Prayer – Matthew

Mt 6:5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Mt 6:9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“ ‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,

Mt 6:10 your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.

Mt 6:11 Give us today our daily bread.

Mt 6:12 Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Mt 6:13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’ 14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

Yes, we must really mean it. Act like we mean it, of course. But in our hearts, truly mean it. For more on that, I have a series on The Lord’s Prayer.

Of special interest for this topic may be one segment of it about how we are not to pray.

Now having said that, it’s also possible that we’ve reached a point of no return. The Bible tells us there will be a time when the world will be, for a time, given over completely to evil. Sadly, we seem to be on a crash course towards that day.

If that’s the case, there’s another series that you should be interested in. It’s about seven letters to seven churches in Revelation. It has warnings and encouragements for that time.

The encouragements are for those who truly follow Jesus. The warning are for those who don’t. Depending on which you are, there are things in those letters for all of us. I invite you to check it out.

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