Perhaps the evil is not in the guns, but in our hearts

Stuffed animals sit at the base of a cross at a makeshift memorial for victims near the scene of a shooting at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Tuesday, in Texas. A man opened fire inside the church in the small South Texas community on Sunday, killing more than two dozen and injuring others. Vince Marrone writes that he suspects the cause to be “evil.” Eric Gay AP

Like most of us, I have been thinking about the recent senseless murder of the innocent. We can speculate as to what would cause a person to commit such horrendous and senseless crimes against humanity.

Does our culture nurture such people?

Would gun control eliminate the possibility that someone would have the means to kill so many in such a short time?

There are many other possible reasons and solutions. It appears that these individuals carefully planned these events, which says to me they knew exactly what they were doing. It really comes down to a sane person with free will decided to commit evil.

I am reminded of a movie I once saw where the pastor of a small church was called to a location where some of his parishioners were burning books that they considered evil. His response to his flock was that the evil was not in the books but in their hearts.

Vince Marrone, Fresno

This story was originally published November 8, 2017 at 10:34 AM with the headline "Perhaps the evil is not in the guns, but in our hearts."

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