Republican Senate candidate: ‘The 10 Commandments are the only gun control laws that work’

Among the many races in Virginia’s elections today, there’s the State Senate race between Democrat Janet Howell and her Republican challenger Arthur Purves. Last week, local news outlet Arlington Now asked the two candidates to write a 750-word essay on “why our readers should vote for them in the Nov. 5 general election.”

Purves took on the challenge, and within his piece he revealed some *unique* ideas about gun control, among other things.

“This is my eighth race in 24 years,” he wrote. “and every time I have run on the same platform: to end racial inequality in public schools by bringing back phonics, arithmetic drill, history, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Ten Commandments, instead of tax hikes, busing, and police.”

Okay. How about gun control?

“Gun violence is prevalent where fatherlessness is prevalent.  Fathers are the best form of gun control, and the Ten Commandments are the only gun control laws that ever worked.”

As we all know, the Ten Commandments have already done wonders when it comes to preventing lying, stealing, and coveting other people’s wives.

As the Friendly Atheist’s Hemant Mehta points out, in a Q&A for Ballotpedia, Purves claimed that there were no school shootings “before the Supreme Court removed the Lord’s Prayer from public schools.”

In his piece for Arlington Now, Purves complains that for 24 years “my solutions have been ignored.” It’s a mystery why.

Featured image via screen grab

Sky Palma

Before launching DeadState back in 2012, Sky Palma has been blogging about politics, social issues and religion for over a decade. He lives in Los Angeles and also enjoys Brazilian jiu jitsu, chess, music and art.