The March 2 letter to the editor from Kenneth Schammel, “Respect for life versus guns,” raises some interesting points. However, guns in and of themselves are not evil. It is the illicit user of the gun that is evil. Evil has no weapon of choice.
Abortionists don’t use guns. Adolf Hitler used gas chambers. Timothy McVeigh used fertilizer and a truck. The Sept. 11 terrorists didn’t use guns. The Boston Bomber didn’t use a gun. Countless others have been murdered by beheadings, car bombs, hangings and nerve gas.
The main issue, in fact, is respect for life. The mention of God is either forbidden or detested in the public sector. Many of us who worship and honor God are ridiculed for professing our beliefs. Until all humankind acknowledges and practices the teachings of Jesus, the violence will continue.
William J. Barker lives in Charlotte.
As someone involved with Respect Life activities, I can understand Kenneth Schammel’s recent letter expressing concern about firearms and respect for human life.
However, the underlying cause of mass shootings is not easy access to or the use of firearms, but the breakdown of the family, tolerance of abortion, the acceptance of pornography, and society’s abandonment of God. In short, disrespect of human life is a moral and spiritual problem, not legislative.
Sadly, attacks against life will continue in a nation that permits the killing of millions of the most innocent and vulnerable. Only in ending this primary cause of violence, and asking the Precious Blood of Jesus to wash and heal our nation, can we cure our country’s cultural disease.
I invite everyone to attend the Vigil of the Two Hearts that is held each First Friday and First Saturday of the month at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte to join in prayer for the unborn and for the conversion of our country. Go to www.prolifecharlotte.org/two-hearts to learn more.
Tammy Harris is co-coordinator of the Catholic Pro-Life Action Network.