The Very Rev. Gary Hall and Rabbi David Saperstein reflect on the gun violence epidemic in The Huffington Post:
Now is the time for our voices to be heard. Now is the time for Congress to act. The answers are not complicated, but they do take political courage backed by broad-based support. It is imperative that our representatives put special interests aside and put the American people’s interests — their very lives — first.
While we remain steadfast in our commitment to the advancement of gun violence prevention legislation, we do not purport these measures to be a singular answer to our nation’s woes. As members of the clergy and leaders in our respective faiths, we recognize the important role that the faith community can and must play in tending to an American culture that praises violence and worships weapons. We must embark on a societal shift, and as a religious community, we accept the challenge to accelerate this cause.
If your community is participating in this weekend’s gun violence prevention Sabbath, add your voice by attending; support your house of worship in its decision to take a stand. Whether or not your house of worship is participating, you have the power to engage. Encourage your clergy to deliver sermons on this subject and turn them into op-ed pieces for your local papers. Ask your house of worship to join with other faith communities to host speakers and programs on gun violence. Contact your members of Congress, your state and local legislators, your mayor, your governor — anyone who is empowered to advance change.
In Psychology Today, Elisabeth Waugaman’s series on gun ownership mentions the work of both as part of “what people of faith are doing concerning America’s gun problem”.