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Official Statement on the Shooting in Uvalde: Counteracting Violence with the Power of Peacemaking
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” — 2 Tim. 1:6–7 This week in Uvalde, Texas, a shooter ended 21 lives and forever altered countless others. As the tragically familiar responses once again play out in news and social media, we can feel fear permeating our conversations: Parents are afraid for their children, trauma from past shootings is revisited, and our most important shared spaces have become killing grounds. Some Americans are afraid of the proliferation of guns, while others fear that their right to own guns may be threatened. Fear motivates the purchase of even…
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Official Statement on the Buffalo Shooting, Replacement Theory, and White Supremacy
With broken hearts we mourn the senseless loss of 10 beloved children of God who were killed in a grocery store in Buffalo, N.Y., on May 14. Celestine Chaney, Roberta Drury, Katherine Massey, Heyward Patterson, Aaron Salter, Pearl Young, Ruth Whitfield, Margus Morrison, Andre Mackneil, and Geraldine Talley were civil rights activists, community volunteers, parents, siblings, and friends. They were victims of a direct attack on a Black community — an attack that is emblematic of a rising wave of violence driven by white supremacists in the U.S. The alleged shooter sought to do more than kill. It was his intent to use this act of terrorism to promote the…
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Official Statement From MWEG on Fair Districting Litigation in Utah
Today, Mormon Women for Ethical Government joins the League of Women Voters of Utah and seven individual plaintiffs in a suit challenging the congressional maps drawn by the Utah State Legislature in November 2021. This challenge is a manifestation of our deep commitment to peacemaking. We are seeking redress through the courts on behalf of our members in Utah’s four congressional districts who have been denied access to representative government. In 2018, Proposition 4 was passed by Utah voters with an aim to create a redistricting process that was neutral and fair. This represented an effort by the people to alter and reform a government process in direct response to…
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Official Statement from the Arizona Chapter of Mormon Women for Ethical Government on the ACC Energy Rules Vote
We believe the land and the air around us are a gift, and we are responsible for their care. Individual efforts to “safeguard the earth and her resources for our children and generations that follow” are important but insufficient on their own. Reasonable, well-written policies can help to ensure sustainability. Last Wednesday, January 26, the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC), by a vote of 3-2, rejected the Energy Rules package that would have required the state’s regulated electric utilities to reduce their carbon emissions to combat climate change. The Energy Rules were drafted over a period of several years and drew upon judgment from industry experts, public utility companies, and Arizona…
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Official Statement on the January 6 Anniversary
One year ago, on January 6, 2021, America watched in horror as a violent mob stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to disrupt Congress and claim the presidency by unlawful means. While the insurrectionists did not succeed in their aim, they nonetheless stole something as important as an election — our national confidence in the peaceful transfer of power, and our faith in our fellow citizens. This year we have lived with a fractured and fragile peace. Before January 6, our electoral processes were a hopeful manifestation of positive peace — constructive and generative engagement with the opposition. As a nation, we had attitudes, systems, and institutions that promoted…
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Official Statement From MWEG on a Faith-Based Defense of the Freedom to Vote
As faith-inspired activists and advocates for ethical governance, we are deeply motivated by our belief that every individual is an infinitely valuable child of God. Our love of democratic governance is a natural outgrowth of this, as is our passionate desire to protect it. The freedom to vote is a clear political manifestation of the individual worth of souls. Ensuring that right for all citizens is an expression of the second great commandment within our political systems — to love our neighbors as ourselves. We cannot claim to truly love our neighbors if we also deny their constitutional right to participate equally in the formation of our shared government. We…
