Is it okay for Catholics to own firearms so they can protect themselves and their loved ones?

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And Charles Martel, and King Baldwin IV, and John III Sobieski, and St. Louis, and St. Joan, and Pope Julius II…
All devout Catholics.
 
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And Generals Rosecrans and Longstreet, both devout Catholics who “lived by the sword” but died peacefully in old age. Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine.
 
I have NO issue with people owning guns for hunting, sport shooting, or collecting. I’m a bit concerned with the more extreme self-defense arguments. If you are keeping a hand gun by your bedside, fine enough, but are you going to leave the thing unloaded; likely not? If you keep it unloaded, how close (or locked up) are you keeping the ammo? Those prone to things like suicide or curious kids will put 2 and 2 together.

If you are supporting public carry of any sort, are you willing to consider and especially not mock the feelings of people like me who have never felt a need to bring a gun into most any situation? I have innate rights too, but I am at your mercy. I don’t disagree that there aren’t some businesses in high crime areas (e.g. 24 hours convenience stores) where having a gun at the ready isn’t necessarily the wrong choice. However, timed safes and bullet proof cash register enclosures are almost certainly more effective. The murder rate has dropped to 1960s levels, likely what many baby boomers consider the safe good old days. Of an even a more relevant statistic to me, the murder rate is one quarter of what it was when the Constitution was written.

If you think otherwise, there is no need to take as an affront my disagreement with some pro-gun sentiments. The reality is that any issue regarding guns has become an unnecessarily divisive issue in the USA. People have a right to have a gun in this country but that also comes with a solemn obligation to mitigate their effect on society. It is correct, guns don’t kill people, people do. However, it is attitudes that kill people. The worst problems in society happen when people only care about “getting theirs” or assigning all the blame to others.

We shouldn’t be concerned so much about what the Church or Bible says about owning a deadly weapon for self defense, we need to be concerned about the greater good that the salvation and example of Christ brings to our world. If you are a strong proponent of public carry, have you considered that coming to the table with effective solutions towards making sure only “good” people own guns would give you some moral impunity? The government is not coming for your guns. The government, via the Supreme Court, has ruled definitively in favor of the Constitutional right of American citizens to own guns. It would take an exceptional legal argument to change this even slightly. It is indeed difficult to track the second hand market for guns, but a very small amount of gun dealers are responsible for a vast majority of the illegal gun sales in this country. Cutting off this supply I think any reasonable person cold get behind. Sure, it won’t change everything overnight, but there would be long term trickle down effects as we can shut these people down with better tracking and limiting the pool of such weapons.
 
PJH_74 said:
. If you are keeping a hand gun by your bedside, fine enough, but are you going to leave the thing unloaded; likely not? If you keep it unloaded, how close (or locked up) are you keeping the ammo? Those prone to things like suicide or curious kids will put 2 and 2 together.
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My gun sits in an unlocked drawer, loaded and ready. What’s the point of having it for self defense if I have to tell the shooter to hold on while I load?

I have seven kids who are all just fine, thank you. And their math skills are much better than 2 plus 2.
 
PJH_74 said:
. If you are a strong proponent of public carry, have you considered that coming to the table with effective solutions towards making sure only “good” people own guns would give you some moral impunity?
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Of course not. If only good people had guns then we wouldn’t need them for self defense. We have guns because the bad guys have them too. We can’t guarantee that only good people will own them. That’s silly.

That’s sort of putting 2 and 2 together.
 
And there will always be bad guys, until He comes again in glory to judge both the quick and the dead.
 
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RuthAnne said:
My gun sits in an unlocked drawer, loaded and ready. What’s the point of having it for self defense if I have to tell the shooter to hold on while I load?
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Not matter my opinion and the statistics behind it, that’s your choice and right.
 
There is nothing wrong with guns. I come from a very Catholic family and everyone has guns. So long as they are not laying around and kids cant get ahold of them.
 
Mine is definitely not locked up and my kids know where to find it if they need it.
 
Cruciferi said:
Still, I wouldn’t advise anyone who isn’t armed and in a position of authority to approach such people and make demands.

It’s a matter best handled by the Police.
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If there were enough police in the UK, then I might agree with you. In the last eleven years as a Street Pastor, we have witnessed many fights when there have been no police around. We have the freedom to walk away, or we can try and bring about some kind of peaceful resolution; which means walking in the middle of conflict.

We do this purely on faith, and I am always amazed at the outcomes we seem to achieve. We don’t want to see anyone get hurt; and we don’t like to see youngsters end up with a police record for rowdy behaviour; it seems such a waste.

Every one matters to God so we try and search for a good outcome.
 
As a long-time student of WWII (really long) and a gun advocate, let me point out that no one can source that idea to an individual and it makes no sense in the actual situation that Japan was facing.

Sounds cool, though.

Agree with the post, generally.
 
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If your country allows possession of firearms (eg it’s not allowed here in Singapore, except for lawful defence authorities like the army or the police), then absolutely. Protecting one’s self or others is good, and sometimes even gravely obligatory.
 
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Actually only true if kids are likely to have access. If you live alone and lock your home, that’s locked. If a kid breaks in, steals your gun and uses it, you’re not criminally liable. Still, a good idea to have locks on firearms when youre not home.
Contrariwise, in San Francisco all guns in the home must be locked, even when you’re home. Thats the PR of SF for you. You can get a biometric type locking box.
 
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Oh and if you don’t have a gun safe (not always practical–very heavy) they make you buy a lock when you purchase a firearm in CA. Unless it comes in the box, like Ruger.
 
I’m not talking about kids that know how to use them. Mine do and know not to touch it unless a situation like that happens. I’m talking about the 3 year old that finds a loaded pistol on the coffee table and shoots someone not knowing any better
 
Oh, all those facts. They don’t mean anything compared to knee jerk emotional reaction.
 
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Australia recently witnessed the low tactics of the NRA in an undercover sting. A far right wing party is heard trying to secure funds from the NRA to roll back our gun laws. The sweet NRA man gives advice on how to shut people down in the aftermath of a gun massacre.


It’s truly disgraceful to manipulate the natural work of society in making it safe, with these tactics. Australia and now NZ have done what is absolutely a normal process for a normal society and immediately acted to prevent any further massacres.
 
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