Do Guns Tempt Innocent to Crime?
* If Father John-Paul Hopping (Letters, Feb. 20) prepares his homilies and teaches doctrine with the same muddle-headed logic and faulty theology evidenced in his letter, the bishop should remove him for incompetence. His espousal of the National Rifle Assn.’s familiar canard--”Guns don’t kill; people do,” may qualify him for the post of chaplain of that noxious organization rather than associate pastor of a Roman Catholic church.
His letter asserts that, unless we first reform all criminals, nothing will be accomplished by banning guns, because the urepentant criminals will continue to kill people with “metal rods” and knives! Nonsense! It’s possible to escape and/or survive a knife attack, but when the assailant is wielding an Uzi or an AK-47, your chances of survival are slim.
Catholic doctrine has always held that we should avoid objects and occasions that can tempt us to sin, and, in some instances proscribed their use--e.g. Index Librorum Prohibitorum, Humanae Vitae (contraceptives).
Because guns tempt many into committing crimes--which are indeed sins--the state’s ban on such weapons would certainly conform to church doctrine.
When Father Hopping next presides at the funeral of a gun victim, perhaps he should use as the theme of his eulogy a different slogan--”Guns don’t die; people do!”
W. ALLENBY JONES
Mission Viejo
* Who are they trying to fool? The “gun control” activists are deceiving you. They want you to believe that the “Goods for Guns & Services” programs will eliminate violent crimes. It won’t!
They measure the success of these programs by how many guns they collect from law-abiding citizens. They are missing the point. Criminals are not going to turn in their guns.
Once you disarm the law-abiding citizens, the violent criminals have free run of our neighborhoods.
Make criminals fear the justice system. Lock them up. Throw away the key. This is the way to reduce crime. But please don’t take away our constitutional rights to defend our homes.
SUZIE SYMPSON
Laguna Niguel