A Proposal to Reduce Gun Violence and Womb Violence

If Catholics stood united in defending human dignity,
they could significantly impact the unfettered rights
demanded by both the pro-gun and the pro-abortion lobbies.

Neither the NRA nor NARAL will like this idea.  Catholics whose deepest allegiance lies with their preferred political party, rather than with principles of Catholic social teaching, will not appreciate it either.

But sometimes consensus-building and meaningful collaboration requires looking at old problems with fresh eyes. With the blood of our brothers and sisters continuing to cry out from the ground (Gen 4:10), isn't it time for some bold new beginnings?

Recent polls have shown an increasing openness to introducing reasonable limits to the "right to choose" both to abort the unborn and to bear arms: 81% of Americans favor restricting abortion to the first trimester, and 55% of Americans say that laws on gun sales should be more strict than they are now. 

If liberals who are opposed to "gun violence" really want to see reasonable restrictions on the right to bear arms, then they should be willing to accept reasonable restrictions on the violent act of abortion.  Likewise, if conservatives who are opposed to "womb violence" really want to see reasonable restrictions on abortion rights, then they should be willing to accept reasonable restrictions on gun ownership.

American Catholics are uniquely poised to be able to increase respect for human dignity by providing a united front in this two-pronged strategy.  Of course, to be consistently "pro-life" would require overcoming internecine culture wars--as well as pushing back against these two well funded and ideologically intransigent forces in the political American landscape.  Here are a few examples of how the potential compromises might play out:

• Ban abortions after the first twelve weeks of pregnancy, AND ban the sale of assault weapons, bump stock and semi-automatic firearms.
• Require parental notification for parents of minors seeking abortions, AND require a more uniform and rigorous process for background checks for all gun purchases.
• Create an informed consent process which includes access to ultrasound images for all first-trimester abortions, AND create a meaningful process for tracking fire arm purchases which would include a national data base.

Mother Teresa famously asked "if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?"  The now canonized saint of Calcutta famously added that "we must give until it hurts," and so these parallel questions seem to follow: If conservative Catholics refuse to limit their rights to gun ownership, how can they tell other people that they should not have unfettered rights to abortion? If liberal Catholics refuse reasonable restrictions on abortion, how can they tell other people that they have to limit their rights to bear arms?

Of course, owning a gun and procuring an abortion are not morally equivalent acts. They are, however, equally divisive political topics these days.  Isn't this all the more reason to find common ground for political collaboration?

After all, "compromise" need not be a word connoting weakness or absence of principles; it could suggest "making a promise with others" in order to promote the common good and respect human life.