The organization Grandparents for Gun Safety is holding its 12th annual community forum this upcoming Monday, and this year the theme is "faith and firearms."
Author and former youth pastor John Pavlovitz will be the keynote speaker for the event at Rockhurst University. Pavlovitz has authored books such as "If God Is Love, Don't Be A Jerk" and "Stuff That Needs to Be Said," and he has nearly 1 million followers on social media.
He told KCUR's Up To Date that he believes faith communities have a responsibility to speak up about gun violence in the United States.
"I think it begins with an empathy that understands that all people are valuable, and that gun violence is a threat to all people," Pavlovitz said. "So people of faith, morality and conscience really need to lean into their religious convictions and decide if the culture that we have in place, if the laws we have in place are conducive to protecting life or assailing life."
- John Pavlovitz, author
Grandparents for Gun Safety forum: Faith & Firearms: Turning Faith Into Action, 6 p.m., Monday, Oct. 13 at Rockhurst University's Arrupe Auditorium, 5351 Forest Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri 64110.
