Telling the Truth Like Someone's Life Depends on It
Last week, following the terrible massacre in Uvalde, Texas Governor Greg Abbott used Chicago as an example of why stricter gun laws wouldn't have prevented the deaths of 19 students and two of their teachers. Quoted in a CNN article, the governor said,
"I hate to say this, but there are more people shot every weekend in Chicago than there are in schools in Texas. And we need to realize that people who think that, well maybe if we just implement tougher gun laws, it's gonna solve it," Abbott said. "Chicago and LA and New York disprove that thesis. And so, if you're looking for a real solution, Chicago teaches that what you're talking about is not a real solution. Our job is to come up with real solutions that we can implement."
President Trump claimed something similar. "If you look at the city with the strongest gun laws in our nation, it’s Chicago,” he said. “And Chicago is a disaster. It’s a total disaster."
What Governor Abbott and President Trump are claiming is that because Chicago has some of the toughest gun legislation in the country and because gun violence takes many lives in Chicago, there is no point in restricting access to guns in Texas or anywhere else. But the governor is wrong for at least two reasons, and I suspect he knows it. First, while Chicago has become a scapegoat for gun violence, the city isn't in the top-ten cities for gun-related homicide. (It's a low bar, I know.) And as a state, Illinois is 13th on the list of firearm mortality. Second, while it's true that Chicago has strict gun laws, we are not an impenetrable city. 40% of the guns used in Chicago come from just outside the city limits. The other 60% come from out of state, from states led by Republican elected officials with generally lenient gun laws.
Contrary to the talking points regurgitated by those who have the power but lack the will to regulate guns, Chicago is not the murder capital of the nation and the guns flowing into our city have far more to do with lax legislation elsewhere than our local legislative attempts to keep more of our citizens alive.
If you're a Christian, and especially if you have access to any sort of influence, here's why I think this matters. The debate about guns, like just about everything in this country, has become so politicized that many Christian leaders are nervous to say much beyond "thoughts and prayers" for fear of being seen as partisan. However, one of the basic responsibilities of the Christian leader is to speak the truth, especially when those with the loudest mic and largest platform are lying to us. The Old Testament is full of prophets who pointed out the deceptions of their kings. Jesus leveled the charge of hypocrisy at the religious authorities. John's revelation uncovered the empire's rot and the Messiah's glorious return. Speaking the truth - simply and directly - in times of deception is what Christians do.
It's true that I'm feeling especially sensitive about this, having watched the city we love be made an excuse for deadly apathy once again. I realize that telling the truth about gun violence in Chicago fells less risky in Chicago than in Texas. But please understand: those of us who have been made a scapegoat need others of you to tell the truth on our behalf. Those of us in "blue" cities are easily discounted. But when our friends in "red" towns and suburbs start demanding that our elected officials tell the truth, that's when things will shift. I hope this moment might be a catalyst for more of us, followers of the capital-t Truth, to begin countering the lazy and predictable lies which surface each time more lives are stolen. The truth which sets us free can also save some lives.
(Photo credit: Brett Jordan.)
Stick to the subject of gun violence, Rev. Dr. Charlie Dates wrote an eloquent and blunt letter to white evangelicals that was published in Christianity Today yesterday.
We are not your rhetorical whipping boy, trotted out for another session of mockery that serves your political ends. We are not your minstrel show, played on repeat on your news channels as a way to reinforce tropes about the inherent dangerousness of Black people. We see what you are doing and name it for what it is: racism. We know that you do not actually care about the Black lives lost to gun violence here. If you did, you wouldn’t use dead Black boys and girls as a political tool. You would see their tragic deaths as a catalyst for action.
Please read the whole thing.
I want to say a huge thanks to Brenda, Michele, Karyn, Louise, Sandy, Corrie, Sue, Dr. Brenda, and those who chose to remain anonymous for contributing to our Race Against Gun Violence for New Community Outreach. We're getting so close to our $25,000 goal which will help us serve more young people this coming school year. Want to help us cross the finish line? You can give here. Thanks!