As the service neared its close, David Filson, the head of spiritual life at Christ Presbyterian Academy, rose and reminded us of precisely what we hope for. He quoted C.S. Lewis: “In Heaven,” Lewis wrote, “there will be no anguish and no duty of turning away from our earthly Beloveds. First, because we shall have turned already; from the portraits to the Original, from the rivulets to the Fountain, from the creatures He made lovable to Love Himself. But second, because we shall find them all in Him.”
Another American community is feeling the indescribable pain that has afflicted our brothers and sisters in Columbine, Parkland, Uvalde and so very many other communities. As a lawyer and a writer, I’ve grappled with the challenge of mass shootings, writing and speaking in support of legal reform again and again and again.
I am, in general, an advocate for gun rights. I’m a gun owner. My family has received years of ugly threats from the Trumpist right, and I’m keenly aware of the need for self-defense. But I’ve also called for “red flag” laws that permit the police to seize weapons (and prevent weapons purchases) when people demonstrate that they’re a threat to themselves or others. While the investigation is still in its infancy, there’s emerging evidence that if Tennessee had had a red flag law, the Covenant assailant’s parents and law enforcement may have been able to prevent the shooting.
I’ve grown appalled as parts of the gun rights movement have veered into embracing a form of gun idolatry or gun fetish that treats a gun as a quasi-sacred object. Indeed, Representative Andy Ogles, the congressman for Covenant’s district, sent out a Christmas card featuring him, his wife and two of his kids holding AR-style rifles. Gun fetishists delight in “triggering” and intimidating fellow citizens with open displays of firepower.
I do not for a moment think that prayer is the only response to tragedy. But for me and millions of others it is a necessary response. On that terrible day and that mournful night, when people I know were torn in two by unspeakable loss, I prayed with my friends and with my neighbors. I prayed that God would comfort the families of the fallen, that pastors and other caregivers would possess the wisdom to minister effectively, that families and friends would be aware of and respond to the troubled young people in their midst, and that lawmakers could also demonstrate the wisdom and (just as important) moral courage to enact the policies that can make a difference.
David French
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