Whereas, the United States experiences the death of too many of God's children who are killed or hurt by their sisters or brothers, The United Methodist Church views effective gun control and regulation to be a matter of spiritual concern and public responsibility;
Therefore, we recommend:
*That United Methodists discourage the graphic depiction and glorification of violence by the entertainment industry, through local congregation education and information.
*That United Methodists individually, in local congregations, and through annual conferences must begin to join others in developing efforts to establish responsible gun regulations and to provide our children a safe environment for living.
*That we United Methodists, through our local congregations, work expeditiously to combat the societal situations, including the climate of fear, violence-including family and child violence-vengeance, and despair, in which persons turn to guns.
*That we consider the slight inconvenience of a waiting period before purchasing a gun in order to reduce the senseless deaths of so many of God's children.
*That local congregations join with their sisters and brothers in coalitions with other religious, professional, educational, and community-based organizations that support gun control legislation consistent with the resolutions and recommendations stated by General Conference.
*That the General Board of Church and Society give emphasis to this issue and work with other organizations to develop model legislation and guidelines for implementation.
Furthermore, we call upon the United States government to:
*Design meaningful and effective federal laws to regulate the manufacture, sale, and possession of guns and ammunition by the general public.
*Construct laws that will outlaw the sale and manufacture of all automatic weapon conversion kits.
*Make the manufacture and sale of guns that cannot be detected with standard detectors illegal.
*Provide significant assistance to victims of gun violence and their families.
Finally, we instruct the secretary of the General Conference to communicate the resolution on gun violence to the Congress and to the President of the United States.
General Conference Webmaster: Susan Brumbaugh
PETS Creator: John Brawn
Petition Text: 22509-CS-NonDis-O
1996 United Methodist General Conference