Washington D.C., Apr 11, 2013 / 01:04 am
Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton, Calif., has urged legislators to support laws that build "a culture of life" by placing more stringent guidelines around gun ownership and use.
"Sadly, gun violence is too common a reality," Bishop Blaire, chairman of the bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, wrote to the U.S. senate on behalf of his group.
The "violence that occurs daily in our homes and communities," the bishop added, "should lead us to answer the call of Pope Francis to 'change hatred into love, vengeance into forgiveness, war into peace.'"
In his letter, the bishop referenced measures included in Senate bill S. 649, the Safe Communities, Safe Schools Act of 2013, commending many of its requirements a "positive step in the right direction."