Mary Adamski: ‘No weapons allowed’

VIEW FROM THE PEW

‘Tis the season to be scary, falalalala … la la la la. My friends added a witch and a six-foot fuzzy spider to their flower bower of an entry way. Driving through upper crust Kahala, we passed a pop-up cemetery of gravestones in the landscaped lawn. In some neighborhoods it seems that Halloween overtakes Christmas in the undeclared home decoration competition. We’ve even strung maple leaf lights in our window — not scary but a welcoming beam for trick-or-treaters.

Ah, we old time religion Christians can take credit or blame for Halloween, the eve of the ancient observance of All Saints Day. A spiritual event to prayerfully remember the dead segued into folk festival bravado to show that death doesn’t scare us, spooky images and stories entertain us. Costumes and carved pumpkins are pretty bland compared to Day of the Dead events in some Hispanic cultures where ancestors’ bones are placed on candlelit altars and candy is made in the image of skulls.

This fun-to-be-scared celebration makes me reflect on what we endured as we faced the very real monster virus. After being the focus of life for more than two years, it now seems to be a burden that will be forever with us. So we’re easing into an attitude of caution, not so much fear.

But fear came down on me like a cold shiver on a recent appointment to a Kaiser clinic. No, thank God, not a dire diagnosis. It was a relatively new sign at the entrance that did it: “No weapons allowed.”

What world do we live in that people must be told not to bring a gun to a doctor appointment or to visit a hospital patient?

It was not a new shock for me, just a first time in Hawaii. On vacations back in my Midwest homeland, I have seen various versions of the “leave your gun at home” message on restaurants, pubs, shopping malls. The most sickening of all was the warning on the door of a nursing care facility.

State of Wisconsin

My outrage might stimulate conversation but not always agreement from residents of the hunting culture state of Wisconsin. We usually spend much of our vacation in Milwaukee, a city with one of the highest gun crimes records in the country. Almost daily news stories tell of drug and gang shootings, innocent bystanders killed. Most involve handguns or automatic rifles and there’s no way to argue that those are legitimate tools for hunting deer or ducks to feed your family.

It always made a preacher out of me, grateful to live in Hawaii, where some of the strictest gun regulations seemed a logical facet of a culture of welcoming and civil behavior. But seeing our own crime stories and statistics these days, I choke on even saying “aloha spirit.”

In case you aren’t up on the news, Hawaii is no longer immune from joining America’s wild west gun culture. The credit goes to the conservative majority of the United States Supreme Court who ruled in June on behalf of gun owners who challenged weapons regulations in New York. The justices said that the U.S. Constitution guarantee of the right to bear arms trumps the authority of government entities to regulate weapons. A similar case was brought earlier by Big Island resident George Young Jr. who was denied a gun permit.

The four island county administrations are working to re-tool laws in Hawaii, one of 25 states that require permits to carry guns. Meanwhile, more than 1,000 people here already responded to the court’s ruling by getting applications for permits, just the beginning of the flood.

The Honolulu City Council will consider a bill brought by Mayor Rick Blangiardi which, like measures being considered in many states, seeks to mandate some places be free of guns. “Places frequented by children” are on the list; that brings tears when you review the grim recent history of mass shootings. Every island is composing such a list of “sensitive” sites that should be weapon free. Bars and restaurants where liquor is served, public transportation, banks, courts and other government buildings are others.

Hawaii island’s acting police chief Kenneth Bugado Jr. told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that medical facilities and churches are also being considered as “sensitive locations.”

No matter what the county governments decide, the issue is bigger than them and will be the state Legislature’s headache to come.

The Kaiser clinic “no weapons” sign I mentioned is not a reaction to the court ruling. “It is Kaiser’s national policy,” said Kaiser spokeswoman Laura Lott. She said the signs were posted in Kaiser facilities in several other states “a couple of years ago after mass shootings.”

The Health Care Association of Hawaii didn’t respond to my question about bans in other clinics. But I did find language buried deep in hospital rules for patients saying that “The carrying of weapons or the use of alcohol or drugs not prescribed by a doctor, will not be permitted” at Queen’s Medical Center facilities.

Tina Yamaki, president of the Retail Merchants of Hawaii, said its board of directors hasn’t discussed the issue yet. She said it raises concerns similar to the growing problem of shoplifting. Thieves “are more and more aggressive; they bring box cutters, threaten with bottles of unknown liquid. The safety of employees is most important” so businesses would caution workers not to challenge or confront an aggressor.

“Some corporations already have policies in place. The good thing is that retail operations have a legal right to refuse service.”

Who would balk at the “no shirts, no shoes, no service” signs that mostly make you grin at this minimal restriction in our laid-back land of tropical heat and outdoor activity.

There’s nothing to grin about at the prospect of being in a gun-toting crowd, be it shopping, eating out, at an exercise or entertainment venue, in a doctor’s office.

Guns in church

What about guns in church. What would you think about that?

From a very quick and ad lib survey, I couldn’t find any local denomination that has addressed the prospect formally. The Interfaith Alliance of Hawaii has no plan to tackle this hot button item. People I talked to were still under the mistaken impression that Hawaii’s strict gun laws provide a climate of safety. “It’s something we need to talk about” was the answer from some Protestant Christian groups which are directed by conferences of members.

One of those is the Episcopal Church which held its diocesan convention last weekend with an agenda set in advance, and a heavy one at that, on topics of racism and reconciliation. The Episcopal church nationwide has not addressed a weapon ban, said church activist Willis Moore. A recent event at St. Andrew’s Cathedral raised his awareness of security. The speaker was from a Palestinian peace organization, Friends of Sabeel in North America, whose support of changing Israel into a joint Jewish and Palestinian government has been attacked by Israel supporters elsewhere. There was not so much as a heckler at the low-key local event, but when a firecracker bomb was set off outside the cathedral, it sent a little frisson of fear about being in a church with one extra person in a security role at the open doors.

There are security cameras at a couple of non-Christian places of worship; religious denominations that have been targeted by hate crimes elsewhere in the world and don’t even want to be named.

One Catholic pastor said: “We haven’t talked about banning weapons, but I suppose we need to address it. I haven’t figured out how to get people to stop bringing their pets to church!”

Catholic churches here don’t often have a high profile in social or political activism, subjects and causes that would arouse zealots. Except when it comes to the church stand against same-sex marriage and other gender identity issues.

Oh, but now there is that other recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling which overturned a 40-year old ruling that abortion is a right protected by the U.S. Constitution. It is already a battleground issue in many states, as you can’t help knowing if you even blink at the news. The Catholic Church is fully engaged in the Right to Life movement which aims to change people’s minds from choosing abortion and change state law legalizing abortion.

Prayer warriors

As righteous as the cause is, I felt my own frisson of fear last week at the end of Mass, when a visiting speaker came to recruit activists, people to be “prayer warriors.”

As Deacon Gary Streff explained later, the recruits sign up to pray outside the Planned Parenthood office on Beretania Street, a female medical care facility where abortions are performed. The current drive is linked to a national 40 Days of Life demonstration at abortion clinics which will continue through Nov. 6.

When I mentioned being uneasy with an image of “warrior” activists, Deacon Streff said controls are in place. People register, identify themselves and sign up for a specific time. The organization is accountable for them and requires affirmation that it will be peaceful prayer for women, their babies and abortion clinic workers. It’s not an invitation for a mob to gather, he assured me.

Still, I’m uneasy with the idea of a church militant … warriors, crusaders.

A scary story worthy of Halloween arose last week as I sifted through news coverage of states’ various struggles to restore some gun controls in their boundaries.

In upstate New York, two Baptist ministers who want to wear their handguns to church challenged that state’s rush to restore gun controls. The new law lists “sensitive locations” where weapons may be banned and places of worship are one of them.

The federal district court judge stopped New York from implementing the ban, granting a restraining order at the request of the Revs. Jimmie Hardaway of Niagara Falls and Larry Boyd of Buffalo. I wonder if they sing that old Protestant hymn “Onward Christian Soldiers … going as to war, with the cross of Jesus, going on before.”

This horror story will play out for months or years as states and courts wrestle with gun control.

I sing “be not afraid” to myself and recall the people mostly respect places of worship in Hawaii. We have dealt with graffiti, defaced statues, thefts … thank goodness we gave up the banks of lit candles. And we have that annual anti-theft issue when the statue of Baby Jesus has to be removed from the Christmas manger scene between Masses. Sigh.

I know I need to get over the worry. But, you see, I choose to sit right inside the open door. I don’t want to huddle in a corner. Fear is a terrible thing.