The head of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission on Wednesday criticized President Barack Obama for his gun control proposals.
Obama's proposal left Richard Land "disappointed with the president’s failure during his remarks to address mental health issues in moral detail in light of the Newtown shootings. He said the president focused on only one issue that had relevance in the Newtown shootings — a restriction on the size of an ammunition clip," according to the Baptist Press.
On Tuesday, Land wrote Obama a letter stating "the arrival of armed officers, not a shortage of bullets, ended the killings," in Newton, Conn. "With this in mind, we urge you to focus your efforts on practical means to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally unstable, without adversely restricting firearms from law-abiding citizens."
"We oppose knee-jerk policy responses — however well-intentioned — that would infringe on the Second Amendment and leave law-abiding citizens more vulnerable to gun-toting criminals," Land wrote. "Noble desires to protect innocent lives from another killing spree should not translate into short-sighted legislative or executive actions."
The Baptist organization supports stronger laws to close loopholes in background checks and halt gun trafficking, but said more emphasis should be placed on the causes of violence.
"Under current policies," Land wrote, "it is exceedingly difficult to get someone committed to a mental health facility against his or her will. Our nation needs a complete review of its mental health reforms of the last 30 years to consider whether they need to be reformed to address this and other existing policies."
Land also said society needs to take a closer look at the impact of violent entertainment.
"We need to address the vastly increased prevalence of graphic violence in both popular entertainment and video games," Land wrote. "This desensitization to violence, especially among young people, wrought by this on-screen 'entertainment' only helps to breed minds prone toward gun violence."
Join me on Twitter
Comments