Religious Leaders Speak Out Against Gun Violence

Nathaniel Hamilton/NewsWorks

A host of church leaders in Philadelphia stepped forward to speak out against the recent slew of gun violence gripping the nation. Coming from across the board in denominations, the churches stood together with local grassroots movements in a call to action to end gun violence, specifically targeting those stores likely to sell to those who would “bring guns to the street.”

Talk about violence is centered on Friday's mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., right now, but faith leaders in Philadelphia were in Old City Wednesday to discuss being fed up with youth gun violence in general, including the "everyday shooting, wounding and killing in Philadelphia, Camden, Norristown and Chester."

Leaders from United Church of Christ, Mennonite Churches in Philadelphia, Episcopal Church USA, Unitarian Universalist Association, the Society of Friends and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America gathered on North Sixth Street at Pennsylvania Hall. It was there in 1838 that local faith leaders came together to name slavery as a religious problem. Wednesday's call to action was to end gun violence.