JOANNA ALLHANDS

Are firearms and faith mutually exclusive?

Joanna Allhands
opinion columnist
Should someone's faith change where he stands on gun ownership?

A reader sent me a photo he took in Gilbert of a church bumper sticker. It was positioned next to a rifle "family" — a papa, mama and three kids.

The reader said it made him uncomfortable and wondered if I felt the same way.

I don't, though I have been hearing this debate a lot lately. After the South Carolina church shooting, people seem to be conflating firearms and faith, as if being a gun enthusiast precludes you from being a good Christian.

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Personally, I live by the old adage that politics and religion shouldn't mix. Not everyone who attends a church has to toe a certain line on guns -- or climate change, birth control or other hot-button issues, even if various religious leaders have weighed in on them over the years.

What do you think?