Catholic view on gun ownership

[upant]

The same is also true of the type of gun - an AR-15 seems a tad excessive imho

ARs are so popular because they are so customizable, it can be made to fit anyone, the small, tall, weak, infirmed, etc. It is one gun that can be used for self-defense, target shooting, training, and hunting. it is made to be used safely by anyone in almost any condition.

The catechism is clear - 2264 is particularly on point - but “self-defence” itself is a nebulous concept hence the use of the word “legitimate” in the Catechism.

why? it is a god-given right to protect your life. the gun is just one of many tools to use. it, unfortunately, is the one used by the bad guys in the states and must be used by the good guys if they want to have a chance of defending themself. the old adage is true, you don’t bring a knife to a gunfight.

The majority of Christian democracies don’t allow guns for ‘self defense’.

where is there a christian democracy? most governments are secular.

They cause more harm than good in the hands of people motivated by crime and revenge.

this is debatable and statistics can be shown for both sides of the argument. just proves it depends on who paid for the stats, they usually get what they paid for. however check the link about the CDC review below

And the protection against a rogue government is futile, if you only have guns, and the government has tanks and heavy artillery. Better to be prepared to go to ballot box.

everybody says this while decades later the rebels in Afghanistan are still carrying on their fight. 2 superpowers couldn’t stop them. it isn’t the tool but the will of the people.

One of these days I would be glad to see some reliable statistics about the usage of guns for self-protection purposes

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www.cnsnews.com

Gun ownership can be legal…but there are “ghost” guns that are not traceable because they don’t have any identifiable number on them. Anyone can order one and according the the media…they are “flying” off the shelf!

it is illegal to sell a gun without an identifiable number

In 1968, the Gun Control Act (GCA) imposed numerous additional requirements in the arena of gun manufacture. As per the GCA, all firearms manufactured or imported into the United States are required to bear a serial number.

https://www.pennlago.com/are-firearms-without-serial-numbers-illegal/

please link to your news item.

 

[Rau]

why? it is a god-given right to protect your life.

This refers to the acts one may take in response to actual threat of assault. It is silent on steps one May take in preparing to repel anyone who might conceivably in future seek to cause harm. These preparatory acts need to be assessed (morally) in the usual way. And Governments likewise need to assess what is prudent in society (in the bests interests of society) and legislate accordingly.

 

[upant]

It is silent on steps one May take in preparing to repel anyone who might conceivably in future seek to cause harm.

silence is not a denial

as with everything in life you have to be properly prepared. how can a person defend themself or family if you can’t meet force with equal force and what good is that equal force sitting at home when you need it on the street?

from Pope John Paul II’s encyclical letter, Evangelium Vitae.

There are in fact situations in which values proposed by God’s Law seem to involve a genuine paradox. This happens for example in the case of legitimate defence, in which the right to protect one’s own life and the duty not to harm someone else’s life are difficult to reconcile in practice. Certainly, the intrinsic value of life and the duty to love oneself no less than others are the basis of a true right to self-defence. The demanding commandment of love of neighbour, set forth in the Old Testament and confirmed by Jesus, itself presupposes love of oneself as the basis of comparison: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself ” (Mk 12:31). Consequently, no one can renounce the right to self-defence out of lack of love for life or for self. This can only be done in virtue of a heroic love which deepens and transfigures the love of self into a radical self-offering, according to the spirit of the Gospel Beatitudes (cf. Mt 5:38-40). The sublime example of this self-offering is the Lord Jesus himself. Moreover, “legitimate defence can be not only a right but a grave duty for someone responsible for another’s life, the common good of the family or of the State”. Unfortunately it happens that the need to render the aggressor incapable of causing harm sometimes involves taking his life. In this case, the fatal outcome is attributable to the aggressor whose action brought it about, even though he may not be morally responsible because of a lack of the use of reason.

 

[new-kirishitan]

I don’t see anything immoral unless you are buying the gun to shoot at innocent people or intimidate others. And for a country like the USA where guns are easily accessible, so gun control will never work there. Therefore it’s probably a good idea to get one. If I have to move back to the USA, I’ll probably end up getting one too, not because I love such idea, but because it’s actually necessary. Although the idea of having to rely on my own gun for safety is a hint of a barbaric culture and a dysfunctional society.