Missouri lawmakers don't normally mind mixing politics and religion. So perhaps they'll listen to some of the faith leaders with whom they often agree and rethink both their push for concealed carry in churches and their opposition to gun reform.
First, Catholic bishops tried to urge them in the right direction: "We, the Catholic bishops of Missouri, wish to address the senseless gun violence that is occurring in our schools, on our streets and in our inner cities," read a joint statement signed by the Most Reverends Robert Carlson, Archbishop of St. Louis; James Johnston Jr., Bishop of Kansas City-St. Joseph; W. Shawn McKnight, Bishop of Jefferson City and Edward Rice, Bishop of Springfield-Cape Girardeau.
Amen, your excellencies.
The bishops also said they support "reasonable and sensible gun regulations," including universal background checks, limits on high-capacity ammunition magazines and a ban on the "bump stocks" the shooter in last year's Las Vegas massacre used to make the attack more deadly.
Discussions about gun violence are too often a volley of partisan talking points about changing our laws versus changing our culture, but the bishops clearly want to do both: "We must work toward peace in our communities through restorative justice policies and practices, and through ongoing discussions about the presence of so much violence in our entertainment and neighborhoods."
In particular, they came out against a proposed law, sponsored by Republican Rep. Rocky Miller of Lake Ozark, that would do away with the current requirement that anyone with a concealed carry permit has to get special permission to bring a firearm into a house of worship.
Archbishop Carlson of St. Louis says such a law would "broaden Second Amendment rights at the expense of the First Amendment right of religious liberty." Again, the lawmakers he's speaking to think of themselves as big supporters of religious liberty, and we hope they'll consider how disconcerting it would be for many believers to know that some of their fellow prayer warriors were armed. Carlson threatened to sue if it becomes law.
A group of Jewish, Catholic and Protestant leaders of various denominations has also come out against a separate bill that could expand concealed carry everywhere from churches to bars and hospitals, unless signs are posted to the contrary. GOP state Rep. Jered Taylor, who sponsored that bill, has countered that if they don't want guns in their churches and synagogues, all they have to do is post a sign.
But the faith leaders said they can't imagine hanging such a thing in a sacred space, and find the whole push antithetical to their mission. If lawmakers truly respect the rights of the faithful, they'll listen.
