Wisconsin Catholic ConferenceWCC POSITION
The Cristeros carried and USED their firearms.
Were they sinning?
The WCC opposes CCW legislation for two principal reasons. First, the case has not been made that Wisconsin will be safer if these bills become law. Second, these laws would place an unreasonable burden on places of worship and other facilities opposed to the presence of weapons.
Public Safety. Both supporters and opponents of CCW agree that if the bills were to pass, the sale of handguns in the state would increase significantly. This proliferation of guns in our state is a cause for concern, not because it will likely unleash a wave of violence, but because the greater prevalence of guns is associated with greater numbers of accidental or unintentional firearm injuries and deaths among children, women, and the elderly.
Unlike hunting rifles, which are locked away when not in use, handguns are designed to be readily accessible and easily used. An altercation in which a gun is present is more likely to end in injury or death than when a gun is not present.
Exempt Locations. Children and other vulnerable people are often present in places of worship, hospitals, and other public facilities. Many Catholic churches share facilities and parking areas with schools. The same reasons that justify banning concealed weapons from schools should apply to places where children, the elderly, and vulnerable persons are present. Furthermore, institutions which object on moral grounds to the presence of firearms should not be required to give access to persons carrying weapons. A number of states that permit concealed weapons exempt churches or places of worship. Any law adopted in Wisconsin should do the same.
ACTION REQUESTED
Please contact your State Senator and Representative and ask him or her to oppose CCW legislation. [Note well:]If he or she supports CCW, request that, at a minimum, the following provisions be included:
To find contact information for your Wisconsin State Representative or Senator, visit the WCC’s E-Advocacy webpage and enter your zip code, or call the State Legislative Hotline, 1-800-362-9472.
- A requirement that persons who carry concealed weapons be licensed, trained, and have undergone background checks.
- A requirement that concealed weapons not be allowed in churches or houses of worship, hospitals, facilities that house vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, or persons undergoing treatment, or facilities that have a moral objection to the presence of weapons.
They don't oppose the abortion pills in Catholic hospitals but they do oppose law abiding citizens from carrying firearms. So all Catholics must morally oppose right-to-carry legislation? Is that what this means? I have a friend who carries in Minnesota and guess what *gasp* he.doesn't.shoot.anybody. How do we stop people from illegally carrying guns into churches? I understand the nobody wants a church shot up, but the logic is faulty. Locals here remember a crazy janitor going in and shooting a priest in Onalaska. Guess what, he illegally fired his gun in city limits. A law preventing him carrying a weapon would not have prevented the crime. In fact, had the priest or some other worker had a weapon, innocent lives could have been saved that day.
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| WCC: St. Gabriel Possenti should have been thrown in jail for saving lives with a gun? |
"In his 1995 encyclical Evangelium Vitae, His Holiness cited the Catechism of the Catholic Church # 2265 that '….legitimate defense can be not only a right but a grave duty for someone responsible for another's life, the common good of the family or of the state.' Pope John Paul stated, 'Unfortunately, it happens that the need to render the aggressor incapable of causing harm sometimes involves taking his life.'" [The pope even defends killing an aggressor]If a Catholic can morally take a position for or against proposed legislation, is it the WCC's place to issue action alerts telling citizens how they must vote or act? No wonder there is talk about a Catholic Tea Party.
5 comments:
Great. I wonder what Bishop Morlino will say about this...
I was listening to Vicki Mckenna yesterday, who was talking about this bill. She brought up a couple good points for people to consider and bring up in dialog with others. I found these pretty interesting, I hope everyone reading this does too:
This bill won't encourage criminals to carry guns. If they (criminals) wanted to carry a gun, they would carry them, no matter what laws are on the books. That's what makes them criminals :)
Statistics show that in states with similar laws only 1-3% of people actually take advantage of this. But being concealed carry, the criminals (or potential criminals) don't know who is packing, but can know that someone nearby might be. I can imagine that would lower crime.
I'm also pretty sure that guns still wouldn't be allowed in schools, court houses, etc... Also, any business could say they don't want guns in their store, and people need to respect that, even with concealed carry. The thing is, criminals might be attracted to those said stores, because they know that it's likely no one will have a gun on them.
"The thing is, criminals might be attracted to those said stores, because they know that it's likely no one will have a gun on them."
Careful, there. Catholic churches would say they don't want guns in their buildings, wouldn't they?
BC, I understand your arguments, but I must respectfully disagree. I don't believe you adequately argued for CONCEALED carry. I am in complete support of owning and operating handguns, among other weapons, and in fact encourage it for some people. However, I have not yet seen a situation that requires concealed carry. That does not, of course, mean that there is no such situation, but it seems to me it would be so rare and unusual that the WCC's position is justified of requesting that, if there were a law, limits be placed.
Personally, I would like it if someone packing heat was up front about it. Puts us all on the same page and makes us all aware of the stakes. Those Cristeros? Yep, I'd know they were carrying weapons. St. Possenti? In his defining moment he wasn't carrying one that wasn't in the open, and there's no evidence he did at other times. In fact, the tale has it he went out to face the ruffians UNARMED.
And please don't trot out the Culvers incident. The woman was ignorant, the situation was unusual (hence the great coverage), and no harm done in the end except for a greater public awareness of the rights of gun owners.
Personally, I do believe that the WCC steps over the line with regards to conceal-carry. However, their caveats for things that ought to be included in the bill seem entirely reasonable. If there is a law that says that you may not possess a handgun in a place of worship, at least there will be one more charge against those who do so in the commission of a crime - assuming, of course, that there are serious sanctions for doing so.
Kat, the point is that Catholics are free to agree or disagree on this issue without dereliction of their faith. It is not sinful to carry a concealed weapon, it is not contrary to natural law, and it does not oppose justice. The bishops' comments here are out of bounds. If there was a group called "Catholics Concerned About Country Boys," I would have no problem with the commentary. Considering the fact a good piece of pro-life legislation just got hijacked in committee, it looks like there may be more important matters to call our attention to.
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