Rev. McKinley L. Sims, M.Div.

I grew up with guns. I grew up with conservative politics. I grew up with the right to bear arms. I am a gun owner. I love my guns, because of what they symbolize and what they remind me of.

And I’m sick of our cowardice and our love of guns over human beings. I’ll write more on this later, because trying to write a sermon and a blog post and a podcast and a thesis rough draft in one week is too much. But, from this proud son of Texas, hear me:

• Guns are not pro-life.
• People don’t want to give up guns because they worry about the government. People don’t want to give up guns because they’re fun. They’re like sports cars. They’re like big speakers. They’re like drugs.
• Defaulting to the old arguments used by the Conservative Right and the NRA is nothing more than cowardice and lack of imagination
• Facts won’t persuade people like me, people from where I’m from, because Guns have replaced God as the source of our ultimate concern. We don’t just cling to guns and religion. We cling to guns, which is our religion.
• It’s a political solution- vote out the people who support cowardice and fear-mongering. We’ll be better and safer for it.
• More guns might very well make some people safer, but it won’t make Us safer. And it won’t make us better.