"Disturbing the Arms Baron"
*Originally published by STREK Magazine (
In murder-plagued Philadelphia, a single gun dealer stands as the supplier of one-fifth of all weapons used in violent crime. Christian activists have for years created considerable and bewildering controversy around the phenomenon.
IN PENNSYLVANIA, several faith communities have recently joined forces to combat gun violence, which is among the most common causes of death in the USA. The action has been named "Heeding God's Call."
In the USA, national statistics for armed violence make for shocking reading. Especially in city centers and major cities, where most gun homicides occur. The backdrop is among other things liberal gun laws: every American citizen has the right to carry weapons, a situation that is easy for criminals to exploit.
Detours
American law prohibits convicted criminals from buying firearms. But this is easy to get around. Weapons can be ordered via "straw purchasers" with clean records, who then resell the weapons to criminal circles. The problem is compounded by the fact that it is legal in some American states to buy multiple weapons at once, an unlimited number of times per year. Many believe that gun dealers run their shops at the expense of public safety.
A striking example is a particular gun dealer, Colosimo's Gun Center in Philadelphia. This store can according to federal authorities be traced as the source of one-fifth of all weapons used in crime in the city. Philadelphia is one of the most violent cities in the USA.
Colosimo's appears on the anti-gun lobby's "Top Five" list of the most notorious dealers in the country.
Several members of Heeding God's Call therefore decided to confront the owner, James Colosimo, with the store's reputation. They asked him to voluntarily commit to following a set of ethical guidelines whereby store owners routinely monitor sales. The authorities can then notify the dealer when a weapon linked to certain customers turns out to have been used to commit crimes. Ideally, the dealer should then refuse to sell more weapons to that customer. But this decision is left to the store owner's discretion under the ethical guidelines.
Refused
Colosimo refused to join the guidelines. He feared that tracking software and data could be used by federal authorities to prosecute customers who would otherwise have remained anonymous.
Members of Heeding God's Call gathered outside Colosimo's gun suppliers twice in January of this year. Both times, members were arrested and charged after refusing to leave the premises. They had again asked Colosimo to sign the guidelines. The activists were charged with breach of peace and trespassing on private property. Those arrested defended themselves by saying they stood there to avert a greater evil: to prevent the supply of pistols and rifles to criminals.
The Trial Turned Upside Down
In total, twelve activists were brought before the court in May. All pleaded not guilty. The defendants testified, often with tears in their eyes, about their personal encounters with people who had lost family members to gun violence, and about the responsibility to "be their brother's keeper." As the day progressed, it became increasingly apparent that it was the aggrieved party, James Colosimo, sitting in the witness box. He was forced to defend his business practices, face to face with the judge and the many press people who were present.
After deliberation the verdict came: The defendants were acquitted. The judge found that the prosecution had not been in a position to refute the defendants' justification for the action. Mr. Colosimo burst out in frustration: "Are they not guilty? They broke the law!" The judge also allowed a few press people to engage, and in his comments insisted that gun laws needed to be tightened.
Many will argue that Christians should submit to the authorities God has instituted. But at least one of the defendants, a Mennonite pastor, pointed to how Jesus "deliberately provoked people, and did things that were not permitted, in order to create a new world order."