Let's not turn this into a religious discussion please. Keep all potentially inflammatory comments to yourself, they're counter-productive and the mods have already deleted a few. If you send a message, please be polite, informative and respectful as always.
Dr. Richard Land, ethics chief of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Committee, and Franklin Graham, founder of the successful Samaritan's Purse relief and charity program, have come out in support of the President's call for Universal Background Checks.
Please take some time to write a professional, informative, and well-intentioned letter asking Land and Graham to withdraw support from the President's proposal, on the grounds that it violates American's God-given civil liberties as protected by the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution.
Here's a form letter, feel free to use it as a platform for your own.
Dr. Richard Land, ethics chief of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Committee, and Franklin Graham, founder of the successful Samaritan's Purse relief and charity program, have come out in support of the President's call for Universal Background Checks.
Please take some time to write a professional, informative, and well-intentioned letter asking Land and Graham to withdraw support from the President's proposal, on the grounds that it violates American's God-given civil liberties as protected by the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution.
South Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission;
Message via their facebook page; http://www.facebook.com/erlcsbc
Message via their website; http://erlc.com/erlc/contact/
Nashville office; (615) 244-2495
Washington office; (202) 547-8105
Samaritans Purse. This one is really difficult for me because I've been an active participant for years. This organization really does great things and is one of the few charities I personally feel confident supporting every year.
Contact form for Franklin Graham Festivals; http://www.grahamfestivals.org/contact.aspx
Contact form for Samaritans Purse; http://www.samaritanspurse.org/our-ministry/contact-us/
Quote: As TIME Magazine notes, Graham, the son of famed evangelist Billy Graham and the head of Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian relief organization, and Land, who heads the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, have been persuaded to back Obama on universal checks. Their decision comes following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
“As ministers, we agreed together that we could stand on a united front for universal background checks,” Graham noted.
But Land cautioned that the checks are not being widely embraced by evangelicals and that Obama will need to tackle the entertainment industry and mental health if he wants additional to support. He also seemed to indicate that universal checks look better on paper than they do in practicality.
Dr. Richard Land, the Southern Baptist Convention’s ethics chief (Credit: AP)
“We’re not going to oppose universal background checks — it’s a nice idea but only law-abiding citizens follow that,” he said. “The more the president can make this a multi-pronged the more support he’s going to receive from evangelicals.”
And, perhaps most intriguing, Land suggested that a tax on entertainment violence could be used to help alleviate the violence problem.
“You could tax violence and that money can be used for a special fund to help people who are victims of gun violence,” he suggested.
Despite these issues, Graham and Land decided to stand united in an effort to back universal background checks, with the former telling TIME that the proposal is “reasonable and responsible.”
“There needs to be an all out effort to curtail the culture of violence that effects all of us,” Graham added.
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013...ground-checks/
Here's a form letter, feel free to use it as a platform for your own.
Dear _______
As someone who respects the Constitution and the freedoms it guarantees, I am deeply disappointed by your recent decision as a respected dignitary to support President Obama's proposal for Universal Background Checks. The President's proposal would indefinitely result in a de facto assumption of criminality of decent law abiding Americans. Furthermore, such a proposal would have no value in moving the needle on violent crime since it is based on the logical fallacy that criminals would abide by it. As such it could lead to the next logical fallacy consistent with the incorrect assumption that firearms somehow cause violent crime, national firearms registration and ultimately to the confiscation of privately-owned firearms.
Weakening the Constitution and the Bill of Rights in this way further weakens all of our God-given civil liberties; including freedom of religion. I would ask, in a show of respect for our nation's founding moral principles, that you publicly withdraw your support for the President's proposal.
Thank you and best regards,
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