Las Vegas Tragedy PCUSA Statement

We have had children killed in mass shootings, we had the US mass shooting in Orlando only a year ago, and now the actual worst mass shooting in the modern history of the United States has occurred with the massacre in Las Vegas. At Pax Christi USA, we continue to be disturbed why we, as Americans, do not do something about gun control. What is it going to take? How many more people have to die senselessly?

The grip the gun lobby has on Congress is intense; therefore, we need to aggressively call for reasonable gun control that saves lives. If Congress is not going to do anything, we must. Please call, write letters, protest, and organize to make sure Senators and Congresspeople know that we do not want to continue to experience loss of lives due to gun violence. Everytown.org is a great resource for understanding the current gun laws and how to speak out.

In the midst of all the loss and our current system of inept and insane gun laws, it is important to give praise to the human spirit that was alive in the midst of the Las Vegas tragedy. The human capability for good shines forth in the stories of people protecting and tending to one another amidst bloodshed and death. One human being destroyed a lot of lives through the window of a hotel, but many other human beings sought to create love and protect and care for one another.

We pray for all the victims, the shooter, the shooter’s family, and for the conversion of hearts and minds in Congress. Yet, prayer is not enough. We will continue to actively advocate for nonviolence in the US.