By Jack Bernard, contributing columnist
“After three assassination attempts, some people say that President @realDonaldTrump is one lucky man.” – The Rev. Franklin Graham.
PEACHTREE CITY | We all agree Trump is lucky. However, Billy Graham’s son goes on to state that: “God has kept him here for a reason.” Virtually all GOP national and state politicos say that prayer and Godliness is the solution to violence.
As for myself, I believe that the good Lord gave us a brain to think. We have more gun deaths per capita than any other advanced nation. We are also more religious than most. If religiosity were the answer to gun violence, the opposite would be true.
Furthermore, no one who examines the facts could believe that the lack of religion is the key problem underlying U.S. firearm deaths. Per Pew Research, these are the most devout states: Mississippi, South Carolina, South Dakota, Louisiana, and Tennessee. All except South Dakota are in the deep red South, a hotbed of firearm violence.
So, are these highly religious states also the states with the lowest gun deaths per capita? If prayer were the answer, we would expect them to be.
Quite the opposite is true when we look at state rankings regarding firearm deaths/100,000 based on 2022 CDC data: 1: Mississippi; 2: Louisiana; 9: South Carolina; 10: Tennessee; 23: South Dakota.
Thus, our most religious states, except South Dakota, are also in the top 10 gun violence states. Mississippi is our most religious state…and also has the highest rate of firearm violence.
The least religious states are Oregon, Nevada, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. If prayer were the answer, these states would have much more gun violence relative to the more devout states. Again, the opposite is true. Of these five states, all but Nevada have fewer firearms deaths than the average state. In other words, the least religious states have much less gun violence than do the most religious.
Does this mean that agnostics are less prone to violence than those who are believers? Not necessarily but, if believers pray more, the assumption that prayer is the answer to reducing firearm deaths is incorrect.
When examining states with the lowest rates of deaths/100,000 from firearms, it is clear there is a better solution to gun violence. What do they have in common? States with the lowest gun death rates also have strong gun control. Specifically, here are the five states and the strength of their gun laws: No. 1 Hawaii; No. 3, New York; No. 5, New Jersey; No 6: Massachusetts; and No. 9, Rhode Island
For believers, prayer provides a multitude of benefits for those in need of solace and comfort. But, when self-serving politicians state that Godliness and prayer is the only answer to decrease firearm deaths, simply don’t accept their words as true.
Similarly, when your firearm toting buddies tell you that guns make us safe, tell them the facts.The more easily guns are available, the more deaths by guns in our state and nation.
Prayers don’t reduce firearm deaths, but very strong gun control laws clearly do. It’s up to each of us to tell our elected officials we expect them to act.
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