On Gun Violence

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Office of Public Witness (OPW) extends its sympathy to the students, faculty, staff and families affected by the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.  This shooting represents another mass shooting leading to the senseless killing of twenty-seven people, including 18 children at the Sandy Hook Elementary School.

OPW Director, J. Herbert Nelson reissued the call for all people to take seriously a movement to eradicate gun violence in the United States. “We are living in a society in which random gun violence is making everyone vulnerable to premature death. Whether it be the movie theater, houses of worship, college campuses or elementary schools, none of us are safe with automatic weapons; illegal sales of guns; limited background checks; and a host of inconsistencies that exist in present gun laws. We must call on our elected officials to committed action to stiffen gun laws in this country.”

(See the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) policy entitled GunViolence, Gospel Values: Mobilizing in Response to God’s Call approved by the 219^th General Assembly (2010).