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United by a common desires to end gun violence and the senseless murder by firearms of 33 Americans each day, the nation's religious communities came together Jan. 15 at the United Methodist Building in Washington, D.C.

The date that the group, Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence, [www.FaithsAgainstGunViolence.org] gathered was symbolic. The leaders were from more than 40 faith traditions representing more than 80 million Americans. They spoke out on the 84th birthday of slain civil rights activist Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., proclaiming King's guiding principle that "the time is always right to do what is right."

According to the group's coordinator, Vincent DeMarco, the faith leaders are seeking three legislative actions from the U.S. Congress: "everyone who buys a gun should pass a criminal background check; high capacity weapons and ammunition magazines should not be available to civilians and gun trafficking should be a federal crime."

Evoking the horrors of mass killings in Newtown, Tucson, Fort Hood, Virginia Tech and Oak Creek, and the morally unacceptable 30,000 gun deaths each year in the U.S., the Rev. David Cooney, called on United Methodists to adopt these relatively minimal actions to reduce gun violence. "What we are asking is not just good policy," he said. "It is a moral imperative."

While he was unable to attend the press conference at the Methodist Building, Bishop Marcus Matthews urged all United Methodists to allow their lament, over the 20 school children killed Dec. 14 at a school shooting in Newtown, Conn., to be transformed into a call for justice, healing and wholeness.

"The death of these children sent a tremor through the hearts of our communities. It ignited an urgent call for change that we cannot ignore," Matthews said. "This isn't about a false choice between the Second Amendment and gun control. It's about soul searching, deciding what matters most  and finding ways to keep guns out of the wrong hands. We have a moral obligation to try to make a difference."

Matthews' fellow religious leaders agreed with him.

In a prayer, Episcopal bishop, the Rt. Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, confessed her regret that "it took the murder of 20 children to break our nation's heart. But our hearts are broken now," she said, promising God to keep on working to address moral and spiritual crises across the land.

For the Rev. Jim Wallis, of the Sojourners community, the idea that "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," which was presented by the National Rifle Association after that the recent Sandy Hook shooting, is "at the heart of gun violence today."

The problem, said Wallis, is that statement is "factually flawed, it is morally mistaken, theologically dangerous and religiously repugnant."

Wallis urged the religious community to find their voice on this issue and to take significant action -- starting a social movement that can't be ignored by elected officials. "This is about morality," he said, "but it is about advocacy and mobilization."

"We must say we're done sitting shocked on the sidelines," said Rachel Laser, deputy director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. For those who have had enough pain, despair and injustice, Laser and the other religious leaders invited people of faith to contact their members of congress.

There are three messages DeMarco is convinced the faith community needs to understand and proclaim. Gun violence prevention is a moral issue. Gun violence prevention laws work. There is power when people of faith come together, power that can't be ignored.

For more information, visit www.FaithsAgainstGunViolence.org.