“If babies had guns, they wouldn’t get aborted”.  Thus say the new campaign bumper stickers for Steve Stockman, Republican Representative from Texas, joining an ongoing parade of Texan politicians whose IQ’s are apparently equal to the temperature of a Maine winter day.  How about, “If lobsters had guns, they wouldn’t get boiled” of “If maple trees had guns, there wouldn’t be any syrup.”  What does this bumper sticker even mean?

I am pro-life to the core.  There are a few benefit shows we do each year that are fund raisers for crisis pregnancy centers.  Our oldest daughter is preparing to spend her life raising AIDS orphans in Africa.  And I believe that science and scripture support the fact that an unborn child is a human being.  Period.  Which is exactly why I find Stockman’s bumper sticker so offensive.  Linking the abortion issue to unlimited access to guns is manipulation and worse.  It is hypocrisy.  Does Representative Stockman remember that, two weeks before Christmas, 20 little children were killed by the weapons he is defending?  Perhaps, if babies had guns they truly wouldn’t get aborted, but unlimited access to these same guns ended some of these babies’ lives while they were still young enough to believe in Santa Claus.  Yes, the gunman wasn't the owner of the assault weapon, but his mother was, and they lived in the same household.   Mr. Stockman, DO NOT patronize me and countless other biblical pro-lifers with your moronic propaganda.

Assault weapons are not pro-life.  Unlimited access to guns without background checks is not pro-life.  Furthermore, guns are not gods, and the Bill of Rights is not the Bible.  Yes, the Constitution is a brilliant man made document, but it is a man made document, not the inspired Word of God.  Hey, parts of it are downright racist and sexist.  The second amendment is exactly that, an amendment to our federal law, not a God given right.  And just like there are limits to free speech (the classic example of “you can’t yell ‘fire’ in a crowded theatre”.) and even on the  freedom of religion (human sacrifices; even animal sacrifices are not protected by the first amendment) there must be reasonable limits to the second amendment, too.  I have students who go hunting with their dad’s every autumn, and more power to them.  We need more father / son quality time in our society.  But none of them go hunting with assault weapons, and all of them have nothing to fear from background checks.

As a pro-life Christian, I am stunned and appalled by the ‘theology’ of the 'unlimited access to guns' crowd.  What do they do with Christ when he proclaimed himself the  ‘Prince of Peace’?  What do they do with verses like “Blessed are the peacemakers” and “When someone strikes you on the right cheek, offer them the left cheek as well”?  What do they do with the Psalm that decrees, “God’s soul hates the lovers of violence”?  Do you have enough white-out for your Bible, Representative Stockman? 

The two passages of scripture the NRA folk repeatedly refer to in order to prove God wants no limits on gun ownership  are Luke 22: 36 – 38 and John 2:14 – 16.  In the latter passage, Jesus uses a whip to drive corruption out of the temple.  Nowhere does it say that He actually used the whip to hurt (much less kill) the people in the temple.  And notice that the motivation for the whip wasn’t government oppression or even self defense, but self serving hypocrites pretending to be true followers. (Hmmm?)

 In the former passage, He tells his disciples to begin carrying swords when they went out evangelizing.  There is no explanation as to why he told them this.  Wild animals, perhaps?  Perhaps self defense, although there’s no evidence of this.  In fact, when Peter did use a sword to defend Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus not only rebuked him but healed the victim’s severed ear.  One thing we do know is that it wasn’t so they could rise up against the government – the Roman Empire -  as a well organized militia.  A well organized militia... this ragtag bunch?

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told his followers that, if someone demands they go with them for a mile, offer to go two miles for them.  This is a direct reference to an abuse of the Roman government at the time.  Roman soldiers had the right to demand a civilian to carry their equipment for up to a mile.  Unlike many who use Jesus' name today, he did not say, “Rise up with your guns and overthrow them.”  Even in the face of one of the most oppressive governments ever (Yes, all you Obama-is-the-devil zombies, the Caesars’ were more oppressive than anything we’ve ever experienced in America.  And don’t even get me started on Caligula.) Jesus message was to win them over with humility, peace  and always truth.