Can a God fearing Catholic own guns?

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I’m a God fearing Catholic with multiple firearms (even those black rifles) and enough ammo to outfit a small regiment.

I have guns for my hobby of target shooting. Sometimes after a really bad day at work I like to focus myself by going out and target shooting. It is a very calming time to do that.
 
I know of a woman, here, who, like me, escaped the kidnappers, managed to get away.

She used to work late at night, was poor, didn’t have cab fare, so would walk back at that time, sometimes alone. Once, a kidnapped went after her, followed her ALL the way to her door!

After that incident, her husband tried to walk there, to walk her back, but she’d need to walk from the neighboring city.

Some of us are fed up with being victimized…almost kidnapped, almost raped…almost beaten up, robbed, burglarized, almost stabbed and want to simply be allowed to live our lives in peace!
 
Mintaka said:
Here in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, our archdiocesan newspaper, the Catholic Telegraph, just did a very nice story about a parish trapshoot.

Sacred Heart Parish in New Carlisle, Ohio held it as a parish fundraiser and fun activity. (Trapshooting is when you fire at disk-targets that are catapulted into the air from machines, as practice for hunting birds or just as a fun shooting challenge. They are called “clay pigeons.”)

At the trapshoot, Father also did a blessing of hunters and their weapons, that the hunters would be safe from accidents, and that they would only shoot animals clean, without making them suffer. This sort of blessing is very ancient, and usually done on the feastdays of patron saints of hunting (like St. Hubert and St. Eustace), but it can be done at any time.

Of course, it’s also very ancient for the Church to bless weapons of war, including guns, asking God to bless their righteous use. There are many blessings for soldiers and law enforcement, as well. St. Barbara is the patron saint of cannons and all artillerymen, which is why Greek people eat loukoumades balls on her feastday. (They look like little cannonballs.) There are many patron saints of soldiers. Particularly in South America, there are many churches decorated with depictions of warrior angels carrying “modern weapons” like flintlock pistols, fowling pieces, and flintlock hunting rifles.

So yes, there’s nothing wrong with owning guns. Guns are a tool. If you use them well and use them to do good, you are following Christ. If you use them poorly and to do evil, you will have to account for it before Jesus, the Judge.
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Totally agree. Self protection and the protection of one’s family is extremely vital. Also great to hear about Churches like the one in the article. Thanks very much for sharing.
 
For everything, there is a time. There is a time for war, and time for peace, for example.
 
Just to play the devils advocate though, I notice that 90% if not more of Gun lovers cling to the position of keeping their gun, supporthing gun rights, loving their guns and totally discount any opposing viewpoint in spite of some factual evidence. I don’t know.

The main problem is that a not insubstantial number of people are negligent with the guns they own, and I suppose that is a difficult problem to solve.

Let’s take Sandy Hook (can of worms)…my view is that (caveat: perhaps the mom was not negligent, I’m not sure.)…anyways, I’m thinking that if the young, very unstable son could have been denied access to the guns he was able to obtain at home, then it’s possible the tragedy would not have occurred, but maybe he would have just got guns in some other way. It seems often, guns get locked up but kids can often get the keys without much detective work, scenarios along those lines.

(This post is really two things in one, so sorry about that. 😊 )
 
JamalChristophr said:
Just to play the devils advocate though, I notice that 90% if not more of Gun lovers cling to the position of keeping their gun, supporthing gun rights, loving their guns and totally discount any opposing viewpoint in spite of some factual evidence. I don’t know.

The main problem is that a not insubstantial number of people are negligent with the guns they own, and I suppose that is a difficult problem to solve.

Let’s take Sandy Hook (can of worms)…my view is that (caveat: perhaps the mom was not negligent, I’m not sure.)…anyways, I’m thinking that if the young, very unstable son could have been denied access to the guns he was able to obtain at home, then it’s possible the tragedy would not have occurred, but maybe he would have just got guns in some other way. It seems often, guns get locked up but kids can often get the keys without much detective work, scenarios along those lines.

(This post is really two things in one, so sorry about that. 😊 )
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Yeah, there’s that, too. In New York State, I used to live next to an orchard that had “NO TRESPASSING” signs all over, and still people would go there to hunt, often littering the place with beer cans.

As if that wasn’t enough, they would ignore the laws, even hunt in dead of night, “jacking”. Once, they apparently crossed onto our property, and my brother was out there at night, with a telescope, looking at the stars when he heard an arrow whizz by! Apparently, since it was at night, the hunter must have seen the legs of the tripod, though these were deer legs. It’s a good thing he was a poor shot!

So yeah, there is also a lot of irresponsibility, as well. That is also true.
 
I know someone who sold drugs who said hunters were some of his best clients.
 
JamalChristophr said:
Just to play the devils advocate though, I notice that 90% if not more of Gun lovers cling to the position of keeping their gun, supporthing gun rights, loving their guns and totally discount any opposing viewpoint in spite of some factual evidence. I don’t know.

The main problem is that a not insubstantial number of people are negligent with the guns they own, and I suppose that is a difficult problem to solve.

Let’s take Sandy Hook (can of worms)…my view is that (caveat: perhaps the mom was not negligent, I’m not sure.)…anyways, I’m thinking that if the young, very unstable son could have been denied access to the guns he was able to obtain at home, then it’s possible the tragedy would not have occurred, but maybe he would have just got guns in some other way. It seems often, guns get locked up but kids can often get the keys without much detective work, scenarios along those lines.

(This post is really two things in one, so sorry about that. 😊 )
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Well, if we go by your logic, than cars should be banned as well as there are a not so insignificant portion (even more than irresponsible gun owners) that drive while drunk, text while driving, etc. Yes, ban cars and force people to take public transportation.
 
Sarcelle said:
Well, if we go by your logic, than cars should be banned as well as there are a not so insignificant portion (even more than irresponsible gun owners) that drive while drunk, text while driving, etc. Yes, ban cars and force people to take public transportation.
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I have no wish to argue…nor did I say anything at all about banning. I usually just listen to these arguments at work and elsewhere. But I found this issue to be one of the most “emotionally charged” out of all the topics I hear people argue over in the United States. To eleborate on this comment, I’m saying that when emotional run very high, undistilled rationality seems to be in short supply on whichever side one looks.

As I said, I’m playing the devils’s advocate here and mentioned nothing at all about “banning”.
 
JamalChristophr said:
I have no wish to argue…nor did I say anything at all about banning. I usually just listen to these arguments at work and elsewhere. But I found this issue to be one of the most “emotionally charged” out of all the topics I hear people argue over in the United States.

As I said, I’m playing the devils’s advocate here and mentioned nothing at all about “banning”.
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Oh, sorry about that.

I myself do not own a gun since I have determined that I will in all likelihood shoot myself first. However, I will not dream of holding the rest of gun owners responsible for the crimes of a few.
 
No problem, my post could easily be misinterpreted, what I essentially meant was maybe she could have had her guns locked up better so he could not have taken them. But that might be wishful thinking on my part.
 
Let me play devils advocate, what if the teachers at Sandy Hook were able to carry guns in school. Do you think that that student would do the same, or would as many people would of died, I don’t think so. Just like the movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado. The gunman picked the only theater in the area that said no guns were allowed.

Look at Detroit they have strictest gun laws on the book yet they have one of the highest murder rates in the country, and a lot of people consider it to be the most dangerous city in the US. How could this happen, because criminals don’t obey laws and they love gun laws because they know the innocents will probably not have a gun and make them easy victims.

We need to teach more people about guns and gun safety. I was raised on guns and the number one thing that was drilled into my head was. If you point a gun at something, be prepared to kill it, otherwise there is no good reason to point a gun at anything other then a Target.

There is a neighborhood in the area that is relatively free of crimes, when looking to the reason why, is because most home owners own guns. They are responsible to have them properly locked up, they don’t brag about them. But the criminals know that if they enter their property, chances are they are going to get hurt, so they don’t mess with that neighborhood.

When I lived in WY it is not does that person have a gun, it is how many guns do they have. And a lot of people carry concealed weapon, it makes people think twice about robbing someone who might be carrying a gun.

What needs to be done is more education, even at the earliest levels about guns. That includes teaching kids that Guns do kill, telling them not to touch them and go get an adult was proven not to work. As kids are curious and more then half will touch and even pick up the gun before they tell an adult. They need to know the real reasoning behind not touching a gun they find.

And not everyone will agree with this, but that is ok, because it is your right to believe in what you want. As it is my right to believe in what I do.
 
When seconds count, the cops are just minutes away. Actually America is a very violent country and I think that it would be a sin to not be able to protect this valuable gift called life that God has given me.
 
HopenHappiness said:
Let me play devils advocate, what if the teachers at Sandy Hook were able to carry guns in school. Do you think that that student would do the same, or would as many people would of died, I don’t think so. Just like the movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado. The gunman picked the only theater in the area that said no guns were allowed.

Look at Detroit they have strictest gun laws on the book yet they have one of the highest murder rates in the country, and a lot of people consider it to be the most dangerous city in the US. How could this happen, because criminals don’t obey laws and they love gun laws because they know the innocents will probably not have a gun and make them easy victims.

We need to teach more people about guns and gun safety. I was raised on guns and the number one thing that was drilled into my head was. If you point a gun at something, be prepared to kill it, otherwise there is no good reason to point a gun at anything other then a Target.

There is a neighborhood in the area that is relatively free of crimes, when looking to the reason why, is because most home owners own guns. They are responsible to have them properly locked up, they don’t brag about them. But the criminals know that if they enter their property, chances are they are going to get hurt, so they don’t mess with that neighborhood.

When I lived in WY it is not does that person have a gun, it is how many guns do they have. And a lot of people carry concealed weapon, it makes people think twice about robbing someone who might be carrying a gun.

What needs to be done is more education, even at the earliest levels about guns. That includes teaching kids that Guns do kill, telling them not to touch them and go get an adult was proven not to work. As kids are curious and more then half will touch and even pick up the gun before they tell an adult. They need to know the real reasoning behind not touching a gun they find.

And not everyone will agree with this, but that is ok, because it is your right to believe in what you want. As it is my right to believe in what I do.
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I think I agree with all you said. What you say about education of the young especially is something we should put into practice. Only thing I would add is that it seems there might be better measures to restrict access in the home by children, but this is hard. I guess if I was an engineer right now, I’d like to see gunsafes that opens by fingerprint, but that is probably already available maybe but $$$.

(I think I would be an advocate of at least one person in a school as a requirement being proficient in the use of a gun, carrying one all the time or something, and being willing to use it.)
 
ClearWater said:
I haven’t actually gotten to the point where I’ve bought a gun, but, at different times, I had pepperspray.

I wouldn’t blame someone for having a gun, because, for pepperspray, you need to be quite close. I bought it, and one is supposed to also practice with it. It doesn’t close right, and I fear it could leak.
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Guy at the gun store told us that wasp spray is a good alternative, because you can shoot it from like 20 feet away. There might be some laws against this, though. There’s also the pepper spray that shoot like that, too, I think…
 
Isabel_08 said:
Guy at the gun store told us that wasp spray is a good alternative, because you can shoot it from like 20 feet away. There might be some laws against this, though. There’s also the pepper spray that shoot like that, too, I think…
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Wasp spray?? Is that legal? You could be sued by the criminal possibly 🙂 idk
 
JamalChristophr said:
I guess if I was an engineer right now, I’d like to see gunsafes that opens by fingerprint, but that is probably already available maybe but $$$.
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Actually not all that much. You can buy a bedside biometric pistol safe from home depot for around $160-200. For shotguns (better for home defense) you can get a larger safe between 300 and 700. That being said they also have a key pad and keyed lock to bypass the biometrics because finger print scanners don’t always work.
 
Lookingforjoy said:
I agree. Why not use less lethal forms of self defense, such as a taser? I understand that we have the responsibility to defend ourselves and our children, but don’t we also have the obligation to on,y use deadly force when there are absolutely no other options?
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The problem with most tasers are they are one shot. You miss you are SOL. They also don’t work if they are wearing heavy clothes (probes need to make skin contact). A stun gun is worse since you have to be in physical contact with you attacker.

You can use nonlethal rounds in guns. I have a friend that loads his home defense 12-gauge in the following order.

rubber pellets with capsaicin powder
bean bag round
rubber slug
Number 8 birdshot
Winchester PDX1 personal defense shell

The first 3 are non lethal (outside of about 15 feet) and the 4th could be nonlethal. If they haven’t taken the hint by the 3rd or 4th round then nothing but deadly force would stop them. Now remember that every nonlethal round he fires exposes him to an attacker killing him.
 
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