The Rev. Franklin Graham slammed President Barack Obama's gun actions Wednesday, saying that they "will do nothing to change this horrific problem."
"Mr. President, you’re looking at the wrong place when it comes to the root cause of gun violence," Graham, head of both the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the Samaritan's Purse global charity, said on
Facebook. "You can take all the guns in America and put them in a pile on the Mall in Washington D.C. — and those guns will stay there and will eventually rust and decay.
"Not one gun will crawl out of that pile and shoot or harm anyone," Graham said. "It takes a human being, and a human heart bent on evil, to pick up a gun, load it, and pull the trigger.
"The problem we have in this country is sin."
Obama announced measures Tuesday to tighten federal background checks for gun sales, require gun sellers to be licensed or face criminal prosecution, and to expand mental health treatment.
Graham this week began a tour of 50 state capitals holding prayer rallies to
encourage Christians to vote in presidential and local elections.
He said Tuesday that the real problem in America was that "we have a government that has taken God out of society. Our Founding Fathers certainly did not intend this to happen."
Hollywood glorifies gun violence and Obama's actions would "do nothing to stop" it, Graham said.
"Every night, the networks, movie channels, and theaters are filled with programming that glamorizes gun violence — guns are used to shoot, to kill, and to splatter human blood all over screens across America."
He called for legislation to reduce such media violence, proposing "a heavy tax on the manufacturers of any film or game that graphically depicts violence.
"If violent films and games were taken off the shelves, I believe we would see a dramatic drop in gun violence over the next few years.
"As a nation, we have turned our back on God and this kind of violence and bloodshed is a result," Graham said.
He then quoted Jeremiah 17:9 from the Old Testament: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"
Graham then ended the post by asking, "The only cure?
"Jesus Christ. That’s what will make a difference in our nation."
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