'I am so mad': Michigan faith leaders demand new gun control laws after MSU shooting

On Monday evenings, Eastminster Presbyterian Church in East Lansing, Michigan, holds a weekly dinner for students to help promote a sense of community. The evening of Feb. 13, the small group of students and church officials who gathered had to shelter in place as reports came that a shooter was targeting people in the area.

"Our first duty ... was to our students and making sure they were OK," said Bridgette Redman, office administrator of the Presbyterian church that sits 1 mile from the campus of Michigan State University.

And now, Redman and other faith leaders in East Lansing are mobilizing to offer support, counseling and a sense of belonging to those traumatized by the shooting that killed three and injured five students.

The Presbyterian church and other houses of worship opened their doors to the community Tuesday, holding vigils and trying to offer comfort. Eastminster Presbyterian offered stuffed animals and fruits to snack on for students and held an evening vigil. The Islamic Center of East Lansing also opened its doors, holding a forum discussing faith and mental health, and offering counseling by its imam. More vigils at area churches are planned for Wednesday, including an interfaith event, 7 p.m. at The Peoples Church in East Lansing.

But in addition to prayers, leaders in Christian, Muslim and Jewish communities are also calling for action, asking the state Legislature to pass new gun control laws. One year ago Tuesday, a new coalition of religious leaders and community activists called End Gun Violence Michigan was formed to fight for legislative changes such as universal background checks and red flag laws they believe will reduce gun violence. Their proposals last year were blocked by the Republican-led legislature, but with Democrats now in control of both chambers, they're hoping the bills will pass.

"Tonight we pray, tomorrow we change our culture, we change our laws," said the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan, the Rt. Rev. Bonnie Perry, said. "I am so mad and so sad that we have yet another shooting. ... We know that gun deaths is the leading cause of death for young people in the state of Michigan and in the United States of America."

Members of the Episcopal Church and other religious denominations and groups were affected by the shooting.

More:From East Lansing to metro Detroit and beyond, Michiganders gather to mourn

"We have students who are part of our campus ministries who were in the vicinity of the shooting," Perry said. "So it's deep trauma for them. And it's deep trauma for everyone who is associated with Michigan State."

On Tuesday afternoon, the Michigan Conference of The United Methodist Church - which consists of almost 850 Methodist churches with 120,000 members in Michigan - held a previously scheduled online session about how to lobby for gun control laws. They had been planning a series of events over the next month including an Advocacy Day on March 22 in Lansing to bring attention to the problem of gun violence. After what happened at Michigan State, they are more driven than ever.

"I'm tired, God," the Rev. Albert Bush, pastor of Immanuel United Methodist Church in Eastpointe and chairman of Church and Society for the Michigan Area United Methodist Board of Justice, said during the online webinar on gun control with other Methodist leaders. "I'm tired of the unwillingness to see this as an important issue. I'm tired of those in power who worked to prevent any real change. I'm tired of those who say gun violence can't be reduced. All this makes me tired. But I know that that the tiredness I feel is your tiredness. It is the same tiredness that Jesus felt after his struggles against injustice."

Heather McDougall, a Methodist chaplain working on gun control issues, had charts to illustrate why she believes new laws are needed; she pushed back on claims that the laws won't bring changes, arguing that states with more restrictive laws experience fewer cases of fatal shootings.

"Gun violence is a public health epidemic," she said. She encouraged Methodists to get involved in advocating and lobbying for change.

"We are in this together," she said. "You are not alone."

The frustration among some religious leaders with the phrase "thoughts and prayers" was echoed Tuesday in a viral tweet by State Rep. Ranjeev Puri, D-Canton, who wrote "F--- your thoughts and prayers," in a tweet and letter that drew national attention. Puri called for immediate gun reform, saying "thoughts and prayers without action and change are meaningless."

A number of conservatives blasted Puri for his tweet, reported Fox News. U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ariz, argued the the suspect in Monday's killings, Anthony McRae, was not prosecuted aggressively enough in a previous gun case.

More:Who was Anthony McRae? MSU shooting suspect had troubling history

In an earlier tweet, Puri, the first Sikh to serve in Michigan House, spoke about a mass shooting in 2012 that killed several worshipers at a Sikh house of worship in Wisconsin his family once attended.

"A mass shooting at my family's place of worship is what prompted me to run for office," Puri wrote. "A society plagued with gun violence is a symptom of years of inaction."

Faith leaders in Michigan said many of their congregations have ties to Michigan State, the largest university in the state.

"Countless students, staff, first responders, family and community members have been deeply shaken after shootings last night at Michigan State University," said the Rev. Alice Townley, the mission and justice coordinator for the Michigan Conference of the United Methodist Church. "We have received word that one of the students injured sings in the choir at Central United Methodist Church in Lansing."

Catholic leaders in Michigan also released statements, but they shied away from politics and avoided the topic of gun control.

"May the love of Almighty God restore health to the injured; sustain those caring for them; bestow solace on those who mourn and eternal rest to those who were killed," Lansing Bishop Earl Boyea said in a tweet. "The Catholic community is praying that they rest in peace."

The Archbishop of Detroit, Allen Vigneron, called the shooting "horrific" in a tweet.

"We join in mourning the young lives cut short, praying that the injured are restored to good health, and lifting up all those impacted by these terrible actions," Vigneron added.

On Tuesday evening at St. Paul on the Lake Catholic Church, a service was held remembering the three fatal victims: Brian Fraser, who used to attend the church, Alexandria Verner and Arielle Anderson.

"Each one of us is given a guardian angel to guide us along our journey in life," said the church's pastor, the Rev. James Bilot. "So at that horrendous moment in Brian's life, last night, he was not alone. His angel was there, to support him, to comfort him, and most importantly, to protect his soul. ... He was a faithful young man. This was his church. He received the sacraments here. And he received his faith from this community. We are indebted to his family."

The Muslim community, too, was in mourning and called for change.

"We're all in a process of going through this pain right now," said Imam Sohail Chaudhry of the Islamic Center of East Lansing, who offered counseling Tuesday after daily prayers at the mosque. "This is a collective pain for the entire area, the MSU community and the Islamic center. Most of our community members are involved with MSU as staff members, faculty, students. We reach out with our heartfelt love and condolences for the families and the victims."

Chaudhry also touched upon how religious people can respond to tragedies.

"We're living in a world where this happens all too often," he said of shootings and other disasters. "... Our God, our Creator, is in complete control of everything. Because when these things happen, you start doubting who is in control. There is a lot of panic, confusion, you start asking questions, you know, where is Allah? What is Allah doing? Why is Allah not helping us? Allah ... he has a plan for all of us and he has a plan for this world."

Jewish leaders reacted to the shooting by offering help to victims and others affected.

Rabbi Bentzion Shemtov of the Chabad Student Center at Michigan State had just returned home from giving a class on campus when his phone started ringing nonstop, some asking for help and others sending support. When the campus lockdown lifted, Shemtov, joined by Rabbi Yisrael Pinson, of ChabaD of Greater Downtown Detroit — both chaplains — rushed over to the hospital receiving victims of the attack, including those being treated for shock. Shemtov and Pinson went on to Jewish fraternity AEPi, where fraternity members were gathered. At 2 a.m., they prayed together.

Dr. Farha Abbasi, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Michigan State University who started the annual Muslim Mental Health Conference, said the problem is not just mental health, but access to guns. She supports the efforts of some religious leaders in Michigan to advocate for new gun control laws.

"Somebody who's stressed and does not have access to treatment, but does have access to an AR-15 — What kind of outcome are we gonna anticipate after that?" she said. "Why are AR-15s easily available? ... We need some kind of gun control."

She also called for different ways to reach men who may need help, but may not have access to mental health treatment.

"Hurt men hurt men," she said.

More:Michigan State shooting victim Arielle Anderson wanted to become a doctor

More:Michigan State shooting victim Brian Fraser remembered as a leader in community

More:Michigan State shooting victim Alexandria Verner was all-state athlete, leader

Abaissi said that students may be processing their shock and grief in different ways and differing times in coming months.

"When the grief and trauma are combined in this kind of unpredictable and unexpected kind of loss, when that happens, we feel very helpless," she said. "We feel very vulnerable. Our sense of safety, security, or our perception of life, how we reach out and make sense of our world — all that is threatened."

Mike Ellis of the Lansing State Journal contributed to this report.

Contact Niraj Warikoo: nwarikoo@freepress.com or Twitter @nwarikoo.