Unexpected Truths

Bob rubbed his right temple before returning his well-manicured fingers to his fuzzy, salt-and-peppered cheek. He exhaled heavily. There were three hours remaining on his shift and time seemed to taunt him with its deliberateness. With an internalized shrug, he grabbed the next folder from the well-organized stacks and hunched over his tabulations. Rather than equations, he ruminated on where he expected his career to have lead at that point. His concentration divided, he failed to notice the unsettled look on Martha’s face as she sat in the very next corner. Her father had been ill and she struggled to find the appropriate balance at work. Collapsing under the pressure, she reached for the cold, metal object from her purse…

Martha’s presumed next act is seemingly random and unfathomable to us. Rarely are we so vigilant as to stay on guard at our work place or during our travels. Discussions on gun violence in the United States have reached a turbulent peak with repetitive occurrences of random school shootings and outward atrocities in populated areas. What strikes the deepest cord with the nation is the insolence of the suspects who sit or roam silently among us before their attack, aiming to kill.

According to the White House, more than 4 million Americans have been victims of assaults, robberies and other crimes involving a gun in the past decade which includes 20,000 innocent children. This past week, President Obama endorsed an Executive Order seeking to lessen the mass of firearms that cause exceptional devastation at the whim of their handlers. With an overhaul of the background check process, the targets of the Order comprise primarily of mental healthcare recipients and those with criminal or domestic violence histories. However, the opposition has argued infringement of their Second Amendment right to bear arms and insist that the President has overstepped his authority.

Legal analysis posits that the constitutionality of the Order is sound. As the Executive Branch, the Administration is tasked with law enforcement and protection of its citizens. Furthermore, no constitutional right is absolute which leaves the executive branch with the mission of preventing unintended impacts that the original Framers did not anticipate. Thus, the legislative body is not compromised in its duties to construct laws and approve spending. (See http://www.house.gov).

Certainly, it is our role as a society to defend our children and all members of our community who, without justification, may be unearthed from the receiving end of a barrel. This sometimes calls for shielding some persons from themselves, as in the case of those with diminished faculties, or disenfranchising those with illicit or violent pasts. As a nation, the hope is that this dialogue will result in meaningful changes with an outlook toward the immobilization of random mass violence.

In our daily practice, may we safely extend ourselves to those needing emotional support and care and undergird our law officers’ efforts. Let us pray and stand together for the best possible outcome for our country.

Isaiah 60:18: Violence will disappear from your land; the desolation and destruction of war will end. Salvation will surround you like city walls, and praise will be on the lips of all who enter there.”