Accepting responsibility for gun education
DANE D'ANTUONO
Staff Writer
Although no Valley synagogues are yet following in the footsteps of Congregation Beth Emek in California, or have had to face situations that leaders feel would warrant such action, Valley rabbis differ in their views on gun-safety training for young people.
"Every place is prone to gun violence," notes Rabbi Mendy Deitsch of Chabad of the Southeast Valley.
The Chandler rabbi says he's never had to entertain the thought of teaching such a class, but if it were necessary, "the best place would be the synagogue. If the youth have a good teacher, they will pick the right thing to follow."
Deitsch says he would prefer that kids learn about guns from experienced trainers who follow the laws of the Torah, rather than that they pick up a gun at a friend's house or elsewhere and get the wrong kind of education.
However, he quickly states this kind of training should be the last resort.
"It is not a solution to firearm violence," Deitsch says. "Children are using guns to kill, but we have to solve the problem by going to the source of the problem. We need to educate our children from day one - how to act, to have respect for one another, and know the value of life - and only then, go to the gun problem."
Sgt. Mike Torres, spokesman for the Phoenix Police Department, theorizes that the majority of youth pick up guns in the first place out of curiosity.
Torres holds talks on firearms safety at Valley schools, and he says young people often come up to him asking, "What do I do when I see a gun?"
"There is a lot of ignorance about weapons. It's good to develop a respect of weapons and learn safety at a young age," Torres says. "You've got to face it. This is an open gun state. Guns are a part of our culture."
Torres has two sons. He taught both sons the do's and don'ts of gun safety when they were 7 or 8 years old, he notes.
"The questions are: Do we have guns? Are they in our homes? Do people who have guns hurt themselves? Absolutely. How do we fix that? Through training," Torres says. "A child won't respect a weapon until he knows what it can do. And the only way to know that is through education."
He says safety education and exposure to live firearms will help kids understand the dangers and will prevent accidents and injuries.
"It's just like driving a car. The more driver education you get, the better driver you are."
But Rabbi Kenneth Segel, of Temple Beth Israel in Scottsdale, says he wouldn't want any child of his in that driver's seat. And he doesn't see gun safety education as a function of the synagogue.
"The foundation of the synagogue is to speak out strongly against guns and violence," says Segel. "To be teaching gun safety is suggesting it's a suitable pursuit, and I don't think it is."
He advocates the lobbying and supporting efforts for greater gun control.
Surprised to hear that a California synagogue has taken on this role of educator in this respect, Segel reinforces his reasoning with tradition.
"Tradition tells us we can kill animals for food, but we are not to inflict pain upon them or kill them for sport," Segel says. "If our tradition goes to such effort to stress humanity for animals, all the more so, shouldn't we use more restraint upon ourselves before inflicting punishments on our fellow beings?"
Segel says there are no benefits in teaching gun handling and safety to children. He offers an alternative solution, however.
"Don't have guns in homes. Teach children peaceful ways to respect all human beings and pursue life, not death," Segel says.
Speaking only for himself on a personal basis, Rabbi Rick Sherwin of Beth El Congregation in Phoenix says he wouldn't want that sort of training for his children either.
"I would be concerned about introducing a variable in their lives that is not necessary," Sherwin says.
He adds, however, that he would refrain from judging the parents in California because "they may feel those variables are warranted."
"It's a parental assessment," Rabbi Sherwin says. "It has to be."
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