Statement on El Paso & Dayton Shootings

August 2, 2019 | Posted in Statements

As Sisters of the Humility of Mary, we share Jesus’ mission of bringing more abundant life to God’s people. Yet once again, we are overwhelmed with the incomprehensible tragedy of violent death in El Paso and Dayton.

As women with a deep and lived belief in the power of prayer, we know that prayer is only effective when we let it transform us, when we listen to the voice of the suffering God who calls us to act. That voice is heard in the silence of the victims and the cries of their loved ones. And once again the cry is to act.

We join our voice with the Leadership Conference of Women Religious and Leaders of Women’s Congregations throughout our country who have publicly called for action. We call for responsible and immediate action from our leadership. We call on Senator Mitch McConnell to bring to the Senate floor two resolutions passed by the House of Representatives last February addressing the easy access to guns. H.R. 8 would require universal background checks and would close the loopholes for buyers at gun shows and private sellers online. H.R. 112 calls for the extension of the current background check review period to ten days.

We also call on Congress and the Administration to authorize the Center for Disease Control to pursue comprehensive and in-depth research into the causes of gun violence in this country and to propose actions to address this epidemic, which is evident not only in mass shootings, but in the daily violence on our streets.

Once again, we call ourselves and our nation to make this time different. We commit our voice to call for reasonable gun control and support services to identify and address the real needs of those who suffer from emotional, psychological and mental challenges. We invite others to join us in advocating for the change that is needed in gun legislation and the allocation of resources to heal and care for all those who live within the borders of this nation.

This entry was posted in Statements. Bookmark the permalink.