8 Christian Reactions to Fla. School Shooting: From Prayers to Gun Law Talk

By Stoyan Zaimov, Christian Post Reporter Friday, February 16, 2018

5. Robert Jeffress

Pastor Robert Jeffress speaking at First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, on May 15, 2016. | (Photo: Robert Jeffress Twitter video screencap)

Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, and regular social commentator who champions conservative positions, in part defended the Second Amendment, but said that reason should be applied.

He began with a call for prayer on Wednesday on Twitter:

"Join me in praying for those in Florida. Our hearts break for those who have lost loved ones at Douglas High School today."

In a follow-up message he linked to an op-ed he wrote for Fox News in 2013, stating that it is "as relevant today after the Florida tragedy as it was more than four years ago" following the mass shooting at Washington Navy Yard.

In the piece, Jeffress argued that America is suffering from an "epidemic of violence," partly fueled by the movie and video game industry, which he said is "filled with explicit gore that has made violence the new pornography of our age."

Speaking on gun rights, he added, "The right to bear arms that is guaranteed by the Second Amendment must be protected at all costs but should never be used as an excuse against reasonable background checks that might serve as a partial deterrent to keeping guns out of the hands of criminals."