Mormon President Nelson Speaks Out on Gun Control
- By Elisa Meyer --
- 27 Feb 2018 --
President Nelson holds progressive views on Dreamers
Russell M. Nelson has lamented that United States laws permit people to own guns who should not have access to them in the first place.[/tweetit] Nelson is the newly minted President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or the Mormon church as the religious body is popularly known. The church president made the comments during the third weekend of February in Las Vegas. His audience was young and the subject on hand was the school shooting in Florida. The media obtained a short audiovisual clip of that speech.
Mormon President Speaks Out on Gun Control[/tweetthis]
Nelson was clearly heard to be saying that he knows their (the audience's) hearts are full of sorrow, as his and Wendy's (his wife) are. The president mentioned Alaina Petty, an LDS church member whose short life of 14 years was brutally snuffed out by bullets. He then touched upon on the issues of gun control.
The clip showed the Mormon president saying that it is natural to ask how the almighty could permit such events to take place. Nelson answered his own question by saying that God permits humankind to have their own agencies. These people, he pointed out, have written laws which allow guns to be owned and carried by people who should not be allowed near any firearm in the first place. The spokesperson of the LDS church declined to comment. Incidentally, the Mormon church has banned weapons inside its churches or any other structure. It tries out to be non-political as much as possible, staying out of the debate on gun control.
Reacting to the Florida shooting, LDS Church President Russell M. Nelson appears to favor tougher gun laws. #utpol https://t.co/TwLhz60zrA
— Matt Canham (@mattcanham) February 24, 2018
Nelson cannot be described as the chip off the old block when it comes to being discreet about the preferences of his church. He has subtly pushed the church views on a national matter the second time, after he took over the reins of the LDS church in January this year. The church made it clear its views about the issue of “Dreamers.” The LDS, on January 25, issued a statement which encouraged Congress to act swiftly to halt the deportation of thousands of what the Obama era labeled as Dreamers. These are undocumented immigrants who came to the United States when their parents came illegally into the country. The 93-year-old pointed out that these immigrants have started lives and pursued educational opportunities. They have also been gainfully employed and paid taxes to the fullness of their capacity. He went on to add that the Dreamers must be given the chance to continue to do so.
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