Loretto, Five Other Women Religious Congregations Speak Together Against Gun Violence
Posted on May 26, 2022, by Loretto Community
May 26, 2022
As we mourn the loss of more than 30 lives in 10 days, our hearts break. In conversations with each other and in our prayers to God, we must ask,
“How long?”
“How many?’
“How can we end this violence?”
How long will we continue to accept mass shooting after mass shooting? How many more small coffins will be wept over, and how many more families will be destroyed?
We CAN take concrete steps to curb gun violence – but it requires action from our elected representatives, an end to partisan bickering and an end to monetary gain at the expense of innocent lives. It requires bravery and compassion – and it requires legislation and enforcement.
- HR 1446, the Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021, would require federal firearms licensees to receive a completed background check before giving a person a gun.
- HR 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021, would expand background checks for all firearm sales or transfers in the country, including private sales.
- The Violence Against Women Act would, among other things, prohibit “dating partners” as well as spouses from owning a gun if convicted of domestic violence.
- H. R. 1808 would regulate the ownership of assault weapons.
These are small steps on a path to a safer nation – but they have been stalled in Congress for months, and even years.
We are not asking for a repeal of the Second Amendment, but rather, to have the right to bear arms to be tempered with the responsibility to use and regulate them wisely.
We lift our prayers not only for those lost to gun violence in the past 10 days, but to the 7000+ Americans who have died by gun violence in 2022 alone. We pray, we beg, and we demand that our elected Representatives and Senators ACT TODAY.
Dominican Sisters of Peace
Sisters of Charity of Nazareth
Sisters of Loretto/Loretto Community
Sisters of St. Benedict
Ursuline Sisters of Louisville
Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph
This statement ran in and/or was referenced in the Lexington Herald Leader and the Global Sisters Report.
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