Office of Government Relations

Resources to Respond to Gun Violence

May 24, 2022
Office of Government Relations

Since at least the 1970s, The Episcopal Church has resolved to support legislation that would reduce the risk of gun violence. More than a dozen times, General Convention has urged Congress to act to restrict the ownership, sale, and use of firearms, to do all it can to prevent gun violence, to limit the availability of weapons, and to lament the lives broken and destroyed by violence. We have recognized the efforts of Bishops United Against Gun Violence, and commended the leadership of young people who desperately want to end this violence. Decades later, we see gun violence continuing on a daily basis, in communities with high rates of violence, acknowledging the disproportionate impact in communities of color and the impact of racist violence. We acknowledge the harm caused by intimate partner and family violence, the lives lost to suicide, and those terrorized by mass shootings.

We reiterate today our urgent call for legislation that will restrict who can own firearms, require background checks, eliminate loopholes, tighten laws against gun trafficking, require gun safety training, fund gun violence prevention programs, and address gun violence as a public health crisis.

In light of tragic and horrifying killings in Uvalde, Texas, we reiterate again the particular obligation we have to protect children. As expressed by General Convention in 2000, we “call upon Episcopalians to seek ways to develop community strategies and create sanctuaries for our children, so that all may come to identify and value themselves and others as the precious children of God that they are, and that they may come to know peace in their lives and to create peace for future generations.”

Prayers and Statements

Presiding Bishop Curry offered this prayer live on 5/24 in light of the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, TX

Statement from the Bishop David Reed of the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas

Take Action with the Episcopal Public Policy Network

Support Gun Reform to Strengthen and Expand Background Checks

Sign up for EPPN Action Alerts on Public Policy issues including gun violence prevention

Engage with Bishops United Against Gun Violence

Liturgical Resources

Other Resources

General Convention Resolutions

2022-B006 – Advocate for State-Level Gun Violence Prevention

2022-B007 – Advocate for Funding to Support Community Violence Intervention Programs

2018-B005 – Advocate for Study of Gun Violence as a Public Health Crisis

2018-B007 – Develop a Shareholder Plan to Affect Gun Manufacturers and Retailers

2015-B008 – Support Handgun Purchaser Licensing

2015-C005 – Implement Laws to Decrease Gun Violence

2012-D003 – Declare Church Sites as Gun-Free Zones

2000-A006 – Urge Government to Prohibit the Export of Handguns

2000-B007 – Request the Removal of Handguns and Assault Weapons

2000-D004 – Express Concern About Availability of Handguns and Assault Weapons

1997-C035 – Urge Restriction of Sale, Ownership and Use of Firearms

1997-D033 – Urge Legislation on the Safe Manufacture of Domestic Handguns

1976-C052 – Urge Congress to Adopt Effective Hand Gun Control Legislation

Executive Council Resolves

EXC062017.25 – Adoption of Sandy Hook Principles

EXC022013.20 – Reaffirmation of Resolutions Regarding Gun Violence

EXC061999.19 – Response to Gun Violence

Contact:
The Office of Government Relations

eppn@episcopalchurch.org