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 more guns and calls to turn our schools into prisons and our educators into soldiers.

Fear and anger are appropriate moral reactions to the horror at Robb Elementary School, but our just outrage must be transformed into loving determination as we seek public policy solutions. Mormon Women for Ethical Government stands against calls for escalation in armament. History teaches us over and over that violence does not end violence; instead, it increases enmity and causes violence to proliferate.

More guns create more enemies. They create more fear. Those who do not arm themselves will fear those who are armed. Those who carry guns will be wary of everyone who shares the public spaces they intend to police without authority or assistance. An armed society requires everyone to approach their neighbors and every stranger with suspicion. Worst of all, more guns make even our homes unsafe; more guns in our homes mean more suicides, more accidental deaths, and more murders.

This is not the path of discipleship. As followers of the prince of peace, we are forbidden to seek revenge: “Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing. It is for this that you were called — that you might inherit a blessing” (1 Peter 3:9 NRSV). We trust God’s promise that we can be reassured and strengthened as we turn to God for aid in proactively creating peace — in our hearts, homes, and societies.

Yet even as we strongly advocate for solutions that do not call for increasing the number of guns in our country, we must not allow ourselves to make enemies of those with whom we disagree. An escalation of anger and hatred toward our fellow Americans whose experiences and convictions differ from our own also endangers the fragile possibility of peace. We remember that God is the author of human freedom and agency, as President Russell M. Nelson has taught: “[We ask] ‘how could God allow things like that to happen?’ Well, God allows us to have our agency, and men have passed laws that allow guns to go to people who shouldn’t have them.” God has given us both the blessing and the burden of freedom; we are accountable for the laws we choose both to preserve freedom and order our society.

Grief can be turned to anger, or it can become holy. Grief born of steadfast love can motivate us to move forward with determination as we advocate beyond a single moment. Grief can inspire us to endure in patience as we work toward lasting change. When we mourn with others we enter into their problems and agree to work together to fix them. Through faith in God and deep discipleship, we can resist despair and move through our fear and rage to embrace active and courageous peacemaking. Instead of hardening our defenses, we can soften our hearts toward one another and reach for the “patriot dream” of an America whose “alabaster cities gleam undimmed by human tears.”