Mass Shootings & Gun Violence in America – A Brief Catholic, Political, & Historical Treatise

[Reader Antonius]

Brief Treatise on Mass Shootings & Gun Violence in America

By: Reader Antonius of the Latin Catholic Church of Rome & the Melkite Greek Catholic Church of All the East​

Pax, Ειρήνη, שלום! Christ is Risen!!!

N.B. Feel free to share with or without attribution...but be warned: You may lose "friends" over it!!

The mass shootings are becoming an issue of sheer & utter folly. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction." (Pr. 1:7). That's apparent now for both for the shooters & the legislators. *Both* of them have lost fear of the Lord's love for human life, especially children. The shooters, more obviously, but many legislators more perniciously, greedily, and spinelessly.

Historical knowledge is our greatest ally here: The 2nd Amendment (going by the Federalist Papers & other Founding Fathers) had three primary origins/purposes:

I. To maintain in theory the right of Englishmen to bear arms in Common Law according to the English Bill of Rights (A.D. 1689).

II. For American citizens to bear arms for self-protection against sporadic Native American raids (especially Iroquois in the northeast & Cherokee in the South), protection against slave revolts & maintenance of the chattel slavery economy (a disgusting fact!), and a more ethereal Jeffersonian, almost Anti-Federalist ideal – touted by modern gun rights advocates, quite often – of being able to successfully overthrow a tyrannical government.

III. To provide for the establishment of State militias (another early republican ideal) that were well-ordered (i.e., drilled in 18th century line infantry & cavalry tactics) and capable of being raised quickly in times of war by Congress as Federal militias. Only later did the Founders & their wise successors finally concede for a standing U.S. military over the milita ideal.

None, absolutely *zero*, of these conditions exist any longer. For good or ill.

The English, Scots, & later British Constitution never recognized an unlimited interpretation of the A.D. 1689 Bill of Rights; this especially when the revolts of the 18th century occurred (including in the American Colonies!!). Thus, I. is done away with easily.

There are no longer Native American raids (due to our racist subjection of the First Nations), the abomination of chattel slavery & thus slave revolts are happily a thing of the past (praise God!), nor does the average American citizen have *any* real capacity to overthrow the Federal government. Not only are US Federal modern military resources fully capable of easily putting down even the best, most well-equipped State militias (if they even existed), the War Between the States proved the superiority of Federal government's control of the United States economy & military against any even-footed rebellion. This is not even to mention that we are now a nuclear state! So, this ideal of many gun rights advocates – attractive in many ways to a republican heart as I can attest – is increasingly becoming amorphous & meaningless. So ends II.

Thirdly, the militia ideal of early republicanism died long ago. State militias barely exist now, and have been eclipsed by the Federal-controlled National Guard & Coast Guard. The modern interpretation, insofar as it is still viable, of the 2nd Amendment therefore leans heavily towards the initial clause understood as the US military and National Guard/Coast Guard.

Naturally, the 2nd Amendment still does give American citizens the right to have weapons – but to argue this is unlimited & includes weapons of modern warfare or semi-warfare is not just a *huge* stretch (based on writings of the Founding Father's alone!), but arguably great folly. Modern versions of ordinary rifles, shotguns, & handguns are more than sufficient for self-defense. These weapons have even been shown, when used well, to deal with things like gang violence. For myself, I collect swords & pre-modern weapons for self-defense...to each his own. But does anyone truly, really believe that ordinary citizens *need* grenade launchers, assault, assault-style rifles with large magazines, or armored vehicles like tanks?!

As the famous conservative Republican Chief Justice, the Hon. Warren E. Burger, in A.D. 1990 put it so well:

"The Constitution of the United States, in its Second Amendment, guarantees a 'right of the people to keep and bear arms'. However, the meaning of this clause cannot be understood except by looking to the purpose, the setting and the objectives of the draftsmen ... People of that day were apprehensive about the new 'monster' national government presented to them, and this helps explain the language and purpose of the Second Amendment ... We see that the need for a state militia was the predicate of the 'right' guaranteed; in short, it was declared 'necessary' in order to have a state military force to protect the security of the state. [...] If I were writing the Bill of Rights now, there wouldn't be any such thing as the Second Amendment ... that a well regulated militia being necessary for the defense of the state, the peoples' rights to bear arms. This has been the subject of one of the greatest pieces of fraud – I repeat the word 'fraud' – on the American public by special interest groups that I have ever seen in my lifetime."

In other words, the 2nd Amendment is not considered a right of natural philosophical law so much as a republican political belief & ideal situated in a specific time & technological period. These words here are not easily swept aside by sophistry or bygone arguments suited to a past, long-gone era.

Lastly, I am a Romano-Byzantine Catholic Christian. I believe that all human life is absolutely sacred & God-given – from the womb to the tomb. I'm "pro-life for the whole life" as, frankly, Holy Mother Church teaches. I do believe that both Divine (cf., Lk. 11:21, 22:36; Rm. 13:4; 1 Tim. 5:8; Gn. 9:5-6; Ps. 82:3-4; Pr. 24:11, 25:26; Neh. 4:14; Est. 8:11-12; Jl. 3:10; 1 Macc. 3:20-21, 3:58-59, etc.) and natural/philosophical laws allow for self-defense & even just wars in certain conditions (CCC §2259-2267; §2302-2317). So I'm no pacifist nor an idealist unable to see reality. Evil does exist in the hearts of men...and sometimes it must be resisted by force, even deadly. But all the verses above do not stand alone: They must be interpreted in light of the New Testament, the Words of Christ, and even the prophetic calls for peace in the Old Testament. One way the Church does this is via the universal Catechism & the oft-forgotten Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. They are *not* Biblical prooftexts.

But wanton proliferation of weapons for no substantive reason is not a moral good. Hoarding of weapons, especially destructive ones, in some fantasy of overthrowing a modern government is not a moral good. Guns can be, like anything, idols which lead us to demonic & evil activity or ends. This especially since they are weapons designed to harm or kill. It was demons, fallen-angels, that taught us to make these artifices, as ancient Jewish & Christian texts and Church traditions teach (cf. Gen. 6:1-8; 1 Enoch). And it was the wicked Men of Cain who were the first to bring weapons & violence into the Creator's world (Gen. 4:19-24, 6:5).

Our Lord Jesus Christ came into the world to destroy the works of the Devil (1 Jn. 3:8), and He said clearly to His Chief Apostle & Disciple: "Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword." (Mt. 26:52). This is, of course, not a universal statement...but it is worth pondering in prayer. As a historian, I can assure you that Jesus' words have been proven countless times...over, and over, and over. Ad nauseam.

This is call by a feeble, unworthy American Christian & a Reader of the One, Holy, Catholic, & Apostolic Church to seriously, courageously, and piously rethink how we interpret & implement the 2nd Amendment of our Great Country, and the role of self-defense & violence in our society *today,* as it currently exists in a Catholic worldview faithful to the living Magisterium.

Quod scripsi, scripsi...Venire quid esse.

​