Guns & Violence

     In 1999, several days after the Columbine High School massacre, I was driving in a car with my boss, David VanNingen. News of the horrific event continued to occupy the minds and news outlets of the entire country. The gun debate was heating up. Everyone was a bit skittish. He asked me, "How do we prevent such tragedies in the future?"
     I spent the next thirty minutes pontificating like any good post-graduate, bleeding-heart, Christian NGO worker should: Tighter gun control laws! Mental health reform! On and on I went, supporting my articulate and compelling argument with statistics, illustrations, and anecdotes. If I would have had access to a white board, I'd have gone to town. I was quite pleased with myself.
     David, who was driving, never took his eyes off of the road. Finally, after I breathlessly concluded my argument, he stated without pause, "That won't change a thing."
     Let me insert here that David VanNingen is perhaps the clearest thinking and gifted leader I've ever met. He still leads Hope Haven, Inc. in Rock Valley, Iowa, and serves on many and various boards across the country--from New Brunswick Theological Seminary in New Jersey, to posts within the State of Iowa's Department of Health and Human Services, to the local church board. His is a fierce intellect.
     I was, of course, disappointed. He continued: "Tighter gun control laws will do very little. Mental health reform sounds great, but will not affect much. The only thing that will stop such events from happening again will be Christians like you and me building relationships with the Eric Harris' and Dylan Klebold's of the world; befriending our neighbors; showing care to the disenfranchised. That is the only thing."
     Then he was silent. I was silent, too.