Firearms Legislation at Odds with Church Teaching

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The Lord says, “Be not afraid.”

Utah legislators say, “Be very afraid. So afraid that you feel compelled to carry the means of causing serious bodily injury or death on your person at all times.”

Jesus said, “turn the other cheek.”

Utah legislators say, “Shoot first, ask questions later.”

The Social Doctrine of our church says, “Every individual has fundamental rights, and with these rights come corresponding responsibilities.”

The Utah Legislature says, “Assert your Second Amendment rights without limit and at all costs.”

Pope Paul VI said, “If you want peace, work for justice.”

Our legislature says, “If you want peace, carry a loaded piece.”

Each and every year, the Utah Legislature proposes a loosening of the state’s already lax gun laws. This year, legislators successfully decimated our minimal requirements for people who want to carry loaded firearms on their person at all times, eliminating the need for a permit to do so. Abandoning the permit process means any adult in Utah can carry a loaded weapon without even minimal training on safe use and storage of the firearm and without repercussion if they commit an act that, under the prior law, would have resulted in revocation of their permit.

In their second act of creating an individualistic society run amok, legislators also were rapidly moving to pass a bill that would allow a person to shoot someone and avoid prosecution with minimal evidence that the attempt to take the life of another was in self-defense.

As in past years, the arguments in support of these measures hinge on fear-mongering (because Utah is such a dangerous place to live), minimizing the risks of carrying a loaded firearm, and promoting an individualistic culture run amok.  

For example, legislators encouraged women to carry firearms because we are at great risk of sexual assault. What legislators failed to tell women, however, is the substantial data showing that it is more likely that a woman carrying a firearm will have that weapon used against her than that she will use it in self-defense; and because most perpetrators of sexual assault are friends or family members, a woman is less likely to shoot them  even if she is carrying a firearm.

The justification for ending the need for a permit was that it is a “simple” change allowing people to keep the weapon they can now carry openly hidden. This argument also ignored the reality that open carry is only allowed with an unloaded firearm. Granted, “unloaded” under Utah law doesn’t mean the firearm isn’t loaded with bullets, but it does require at least two steps to chamber a round and shoot someone. The argument also minimized the impacts of ending a permit process that allowed the state to refuse to grant and to revoke permits for various sound reasons.

What is most concerning with our state’s fascination with a fully-armed citizenry is the lack of respect for human life and the Gospel admonition to love our neighbors it fosters.

Both of those elements, in contrast, are fully present in our Catechism, which allows for the use of deadly force, but only in the defense of life and only as a last resort. Our church’s teaching asks us to consider other means to protect not only our life, but the life of the aggressor. This is a difficult but true act of loving your neighbor. If it is possible to resolve a situation without violence, we are obliged to do so.  

This is not just a claim on Catholics, it is what many individuals who are truly trained in the use of deadly weapons, such as soldiers, are taught. With the recent decision to abandon concealed carry permits, the Utah Legislature also abandoned any training for the firearm-carrying public that might have reinforced the sanctity of life.

Many individuals on both sides of the gun violence debate are strong proponents of life. Many share an interest in protecting the most vulnerable. As a diocese, we seek to build on this common ground of protecting life to achieve common-sense gun legislation consistent with a culture of life. It is disappointing at best to see our state abandon that common goal.

Jean Hill is director of the Diocese of Salt Lake City’s Office of Life, Justice and Peace. She can be reached at jean.hill@dioslc.org.