A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Elena Kagan is Jewish. John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett are all Catholic. Ketanji Brown Jackson, the lone justice on the Supreme Court who is neither Jewish nor Catholic, is an Obama appointee.

Gun Control Policy Resolution

Since 1975, The Jewish Community Council of Greater Washington has consistently supported Federal and State gun control legislation and advocated for the most stringent regulations on the purchase, sale and possession of firearms.

What Does Judaism Say About Gun Control? Of Weapons and Wickedness

Yet it must be noted that Jewish law forbids the sale of arms to people who are suspect of criminal intentions. We read in the Talmud (Avodah Zarah 15b): ¶“And it has further been taught: One should not sell them either weapons or accessories of weapons, nor should one grind any weapon for them, not may one sell them either stocks or neck-chains or ropes, or iron chains — neither to idolaters nor Cutheans.” The Talmud extends this prohibition to Jewish criminals as well, clearly demonstrating the responsibility to enforce background checks on prospective arms owners. … That being said, after all of the above to the extent that these arguments might advocate granting permission to private citizens to own guns, certainly Jewish law and ethics would ask, and demand the following: ¶What type of weapons, magazines etc., do they reasonably need for self defense? Only those can be in good reason permitted. ¶How can we make sure that those with a criminal past or the mentally unstable (as in the Talmud Avoda Zarah quoted above) cannot access weapons? This would include restrictions on weapon ownership by those with whom they reside – as the unstable or criminal would then have access to the weapons as well. …

A Catholic Response to Gun Violence

In recent months, the Michigan Legislature has approved bills to implement gun safety reforms and curb gun violence. Michigan Catholic Conference (MCC) testified in support of the bills, in continuity with positions taken by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and other state Catholic conferences in supporting gun safety reforms to protect human life and address violence in society.

Overcoming Gun Absolutism

But I denied that we are powerless as a matter of public policy to decrease gun violence. I also reiterated long-held positions of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, namely, support for improved background check systems and bans on certain semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.