The Latest Lone-Gunman Massacre
 
        The July 20 mass murder in a movie theater in the U.S. state of Colorado has led to much reflection on the connections of violence. As usual after such massacres, the debate on gun control and whether or not it would help prevent such incidents comes up. But those holding a variety of views on gun control are exploring the idea that other violence in U.S. culture is bound to lead to incidents such as the one in Colorado because of how glorifying violence works. One essay in America, the national Catholic weekly, explicitly links this to the consistent life ethic; another from the pro-life Rutherford Institute which, while thinking gun control would fail, links the massacre to war and the glorification of violence.
        We quote from both below.   
 

∞     ∞     ∞

 
Quotations of the Week
 
John W. Whitehead
Rutherford Institute, “Violence Begets Violence: Making Sense of the Dark Knight Massacre,” July 23, 2012
 
        “Violence begets violence. Not only is violence contagious, however, but it’s imploding on America, a nation plagued by violence—in our homes, in our schools, on our streets and in our affairs of state, both foreign and domestic . . . . Violence has become our government’s calling card, starting at the top and trickling down, from President Obama’s ‘kill list’ to the more than 80,000 SWAT team raids carried out every year on unsuspecting Americans by heavily armed, black-garbed commandos. . . . America is now seen as a violent empire with continual wars that stretch back to at least the beginning of the twentieth century. We send our young men and women off to fight these questionable wars in far-flung places, only to have them return broken, shell-shocked and battling bouts of violence, depression and suicide.
        This brings us to the events of July 20, 2012, when a 24-year-old gunman, dressed as the Joker and wearing a gas mask and black SWAT gear, walked into a crowded Denver movie theater, set off two gas canisters and opened fire on the crowd assembled for the midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises, leaving 12 dead and nearly 60 injured.”
 
 
James Martin, S.J.
America: The National Catholic Weekly, “Why Gun Control is a Religion Issue,” July 22, 2012
 
        “There is a ‘consistent ethic of life’ that views all these issues as linked, because they are. All of these issues, at their heart, are about the sanctity of all human life, no matter who that person is, no matter at what stage of life that person is passing through, and no matter whether or not we think that the person is ’deserving’ of life. . . These shootings would not have happened if the shooter did not have such easy access to firearms and ammunition. So religious people need to be invited to meditate on the connection between the more traditional ‘life issues’ and the overdue need for stricter gun control. The oft-cited argument, ‘Guns don’t kill people, people do,’ seems unconvincing to me. Of course people kill people; as people also procure abortions, decide on euthanasia and administer the death penalty. Human beings are agents in all these matters. The question is not so much how lives are ended, but how to make it more difficult to end lives.
        Pro-life religious people need to consider how it might be made more difficult for people to procure weapons that are not designed for sport or hunting or self-defense. . . If one protests against abortions clinics because they facilitate the taking of human life, why not protest against the largely unregulated suppliers of firearms . . .  because they facilitate the taking of human life as well?”