human right.

Recently I read an article in the local newspaper concerning gun rights and gun control protests (http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/article.cfm?ID=31715&back=archives)

This part really got to me:

About 200 people attended a rally by the pro-gun Virginia Citizens Defense League, which is advocating a package of bills that would eliminate or relax restrictions on carrying concealed weapons and allow guns on state college campuses. Most wore stickers saying “Guns Save Lives,” and some openly carried handguns or rifles.

“The right to bear arms is a fundamental human right,” said Clint Kritzer, a member of the gun-rights group’s board of directors.

A gun-control group, the Virginia Center for Public Safety, also lobbied legislators and held a vigil for victims of gun violence.


I don't know your position on gun control. I feel there are valid arguments on both sides. But this post isn't about the merits or controversy surrounding that issue. What really got to me about this article is when the man said "The right to bear arms is a fundamental human right."

Really? A fundamental human right?

It astonishes me that someone can be so out of touch with the issues facing our world. For one thing, the right to own a gun, carry a gun, whatever, is not a "fundamental human right". It is a constitutional right. Protest and discuss all you want, but please do not call it a basic, essential right necessary for humanity. As I said, there are legitimate concerns and arguments for both sides of the coin. It is an important discussion and the gun rights and gun control issues are relevant to our society today. They merit discussion and compromise, as all issues do.

But to me, there are far more significant fundamental human rights which are being abused and neglected across our world. Millions upon millions of our global neighbors are starving, dying of thirst and exposure and lack of adequate sanitation. A billion people in this world don't have clean water. Countless children die every day from starvation. Tens of millions are sold into slavery.

Starvation. Disease. Poverty. These are issues we should be bringing to light. Fundamental human rights are necessary for our survival. And too many people around this world are literally dying without them. I know the reasons behind the poverty and destruction in our world, the withholding of these rights from millions, are varied and multi-layered. But we need to stand in solidarity with the poor, the oppressed, the downtrodden, the hungry, the sick, the alone.

If we're going to protest in support of "fundamental human rights", and I pray we do, we need to be aware of just what those rights really are. 


For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me. ... I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me. - Matthew 25:35-36, 40