Guns in Pittsburgh

The National Rifle Association is in Pittsburgh, and they have a convention with hundreds of yards of guns and ammunition for the public to look at and/or purchase. Their presence in Pittsburgh has been greatly publicized. The Christian stance on the NRA's visit to Pittsburgh has been very divisive. Some Christian leaders, churches, and organizations are organizing to protest the NRA's presence in this city where hundreds of people die every year from gun violence. Other Christian leaders are openly supportive of the NRA's presence in Pittsburgh, rallying their efforts around the second ammendment and the right of Americans to bear arms. So, which view on guns is most representative of what it means to follow Christ?

To be honest, I am still working through where I stand on this issue of guns. It is complex to me. I have Christian friends who I admire and respect that own guns, and who I know will most likely visit this gun show in Pittsburgh to show their support. I also have Christian friends who I admire and respect who will be protesting outside of the gun show in order to keep more guns off the streets of Pittsburgh. Should I join the protest, or should I go purchase a gun (as many well-meaning people have strongly encouraged me to do since I moved my family to Homewood)? I hate the guns in my community. I hear gun shots sometimes, and people die violently in my neighborhood every year because of guns. I want those guns out of my community. I don't want more guns coming into Pittsburgh. On the other hand, the gun violence may just be a symptom of broader, systemic problems in society that lead one human being to point a gun at another human being and pull the trigger. Should Christians spend more time dealing with the causes to the violence instead of trying to treat the symptoms?

This issue hit home with me last night. One of my mentees called me. He had heard an advertisement on the news for the gun show in town, and he wanted to know if I could take him there to see the guns. He is 16 years old. He lives in a neighborhood that experiences a lot of gun violence. His own father, whom he has not had contact with, is spending his whole life in prison for killing someone with a gun. Last summer, my mentee's brother (three years older) was shot and killed. Also last summer, my mentee's uncle was murdered with a gun. Many of the young men in his neighborhood have access to guns. I know he could track down an illegal gun if he really wanted to. If anyone has experienced the tragic effects of guns that make their way into the streets, it's him. And, yet, he is still intrigued by guns and wants to go to the gun show. This goes beyond the ideological debate that Christians have with one another. Suddenly, this is something that I have to think through.

No, I am not taking my mentee to the gun show. Maybe that makes me a good Christian. Some would say it makes me a bad Christian. Next time I hang out with him, though, we are hopefully going to have a long talk about the subject. He is a follower of Christ, and I am a follower of Christ. We may spend some time talking about guns and the fact that many people are permitted to own them, but mostly I hope we'll spend some time talking about the root causes of gun violence in America. I hope to be able to talk with him about how he can avoid the fate of his father, brother, and uncle. We've talked about these things many times, and in a sense we'll just continue the dialogue because we have a close enough relationship to talk about the violence in our city. Our dialogue will go on because we are Christians in a relationship with one another. Will that ever be the stance of Christians on the gun issue? Will we build relationships with each other and have civil discussions, or will we distance ourselves from one another and become further polarized? I'll be watching to see what happens here in Pittsburgh this week.