Paul A. long
Pat Damer never thought this could happen to him or his family. But he did. Twice.
Her daughter was at Oxford High School on the day of the 2021 shooting that killed four students and injured seven people. Her class barricaded themselves and armed themselves with scissors and textbooks. She survived.
A year later, another of Pat’s daughters was on the Michigan State University campus the night a gunman entered two buildings, killed three students and wounded five others. She too survived.
Those experiences changed Pat, and he is now an advocate for action against gun violence, particularly by supporting his fellow Catholics.
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“I think it was the direct impact on family and friends and especially my daughters that got me most involved in the matter,” said Damer, who now sits on the peace and justice committee at his Catholic parish. , which has worked to educate parishioners about gun violence.
Pat joins a growing list of those personally affected by gun violence. Whether it’s parents dealing with the unspeakable loss of their children, or young shooting survivors facing fear and loss of peace, gun violence continues to touch more and more lives.
As violence and deaths continue to rise to record highs in this country, Americans remain divided on what to do about it. Many people think more gun regulation is needed. Others don’t.
The Catholic Church proposes a “yes, and” approach to addressing gun reform: recognizing that there are lifesaving public policies that can help curb unsafe access to guns, while also recognizing that there are broader, more systemic issues that fuel the violence. That’s the approach proposed in the latest issue of FOCUS, a Michigan Catholic Conference publication that examines public policy through the lens of Catholic social teaching. Guided by the teachings of US bishops and the universal church, the publication seeks to outline a Catholic response to the polarizing issue of gun violence.
Both the Michigan conference and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have supported gun policies intended to keep gun ownership safe, in part by keeping guns out of the hands of people who might harm themselves or others. This is the basis for the Michigan conference’s support for gun laws recently passed by the Michigan Legislature.
But Catholic bishops note that policy or regulatory changes alone will not completely resolve the nationwide crisis of gun violence. The US bishops have drawn attention to “mental health, the state of families, the evaluation of life, the influence of the entertainment and gaming industries [and] bullying” as factors that need to be addressed, along with smart gun policies, in order to truly bring about a “larger social renewal.” MCC echoed this approach in its testimony on Michigan’s gun legislation, offering support for policies while also urging lawmakers to go further in having an “in-depth conversation about violence” in society.
It is this holistic approach that the church wishes to bring to discourse in a polarized environment where people insist it has to be one way or another.
While the church proposes that gun safety regulation is one part of the dialogue, it cannot be the only part, as all factors that lead a person to use a gun to commit violence against others need to be seriously considered. .
As June marks Gun Violence Awareness Month, let’s recognize the toll that gun violence is taking on human life across our country and consider how each of us can be part of creating a more peaceful society.
Note: Visit micatholic.org/gun-violence for more content and political discussions.
Paul A. Long is chief executive officer of the Michigan Catholic Conference.
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