Supporting all life

In response to Kent Miano’s letter to the editor publish July 1.

Catholics believe all life is sacred, so owning a gun is hypocritical to that belief. When, as you say, “an assailant is kicking in your door at 3 a.m.,” the answer is not to take that person’s life.

If you somehow know their intentions ahead of time, there are many non-violent ways to prevent such a situation. Jesus taught us to turn the other cheek. He had no use for the sword even when the Roman assailants came to seize him in the Garden of Gethsemane to take him to his crucifixion.

You accused Father John Carville of taking a political side in his column but he did the exact opposite. He showed us that being pro-life means so much more than the one-trick stance against abortion. Being pro-life means protecting life at all stages.

It means opposing capital punishment, ensuring health care for all regardless of means, protecting the thousands of migrants (most of whom are Catholic) who seek life at our southern borders and opposing the ownership of instruments of death such as guns.

The claim that gun ownership stops crime has been widely debunked by the best researchers in our country and across the globe. Numerous studies have shown the obvious and logical conclusion that increases in guns are directly linked to increases in gun death.

Guns were made to do one thing only – to end life. We cannot call ourselves pro-life if we support the means to end life. Claiming to be one of the “good guys” means you consider your own life more valuable than the lives of others.

That is no different from abortion. It sounds like it is you who is injecting politics into religion. You have much to learn as a Catholic, and I pray you will realize that all life, not just your own, is sacred.

Dana Muller

Ponchatoula