ELCA Advocacy: Action Alert

ELCA Advocacy puts out action alerts to aid member congregations and individuals engage in public discourse and advocate for change.The most recent Action Alert is regarding community violence and gun control.They write:

He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. (Isaiah 4:2)The U.S. Senate, yet again on partisan lines, failed to move forward any meaningful measures that aim to curb the senseless gun violence in our country.  In its failure, Congress added apathy to the tragedy that is gun violence in our nation. We are reminded that violence in our communities is a daily occurrence.  We lament in particular the 300th death in Chicago due to violence this year including 13 deaths over Father’s Day weekend. We remain vigilant.We are heartened by the decision of the Supreme Court to leave in place the assault weapons ban in Connecticut and see opportunities for similar initiatives to encourage safer communities in other states.  While political courage offers glimmers of hope in the midst of such pain and suffering it is political will that has always moved the moral arc of the universe forward.We have already resolved as a church to work for the passage and strict enforcement of laws that control the manufacture and sale of weapons not used for hunting and sport, or for use other than law enforcement and military purposes. (Read more about the ELCA social policy resolution: “Community Violence – Gun Control by clicking here.)As a nation we mourn, and as citizens we must continue to act.Political will comes from one source, the people.  ELCA Advocacy encourages you to remain engaged with your elected representatives. Despite the recent failure, Congress remains at a tipping point in which real action may be possible.

Contact your elected officials today by clicking here and express your disappointment that Congress failed to act.

In this important electoral year, we are also reminded of our solemn responsibility as citizens to vote.  To sign up for up-to-date information on our ELCAvotes initiative, visit:http://bit.ly/ELCAvotes .

To read the same text on their website, visit: http://support.elca.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=3683.0&dlv_id=7024&current=true&em_id=3683.0