Let's review some sad details.
The weapon used to carry out the mass shooting in Uvalde on Tuesday is one all too familiar to Americans and lawmakers who have witnessed mass shootings occur over the past decade.
The Uvalde gunman used an AR-15-style rifle, a popular range of semiautomatic weapons that was purchased from a sporting goods store, to carry out the attack, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and law enforcement officials said Wednesday.
The suspect in the Buffalo supermarket massacre purchased the primary weapon allegedly used in the shooting — a used Bushmaster XM-15 semiautomatic rifle — from a licensed dealer near his hometown but said he then illegally modified the gun so he could use a high-capacity magazine.
And then some context:
The Bushmaster family of rifles is part of the ubiquitous family of AR-15 style weapons — the most common rifle in the United States. Used Bushmaster XM-15s can be bought for about $1,000 or less, putting it on the lower end of some AR-15 models that sell for hundreds more. The rifle is a no-frills option that lacks a rail system, which limits accessories like optics, lasers and forward grips. The alleged shooter complained there was no way to attach a light other than duct-taping one to the hand guard.
The Bushmaster XM-15 is the same model rifle that was used in two other notorious mass shootings: the 2002 D.C. sniper case, in which two gunmen killed 10 people at random during a month-long spree of terror in the Washington region; and the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Square, Conn., during which a lone gunman killed 20 first-graders and six staff members.
AR-15 rifles. Lone gunmen really love 'em.
Know who else really loves the AR-15?
These guys: Rod of Iron Ministries.
You may have missed the story of the Rod of Iron Ministries as it blurped up a year ago.
What's The Rod of Iron Ministries?
From the Southern Poverty Law Center:
The Sanctuary church is an offshoot of the Unification Church, which Moon’s father, Sun Myung Moon, founded in 1954. That church is based on unorthodox interpretations of Biblical texts. Sun Myung believed Christ did not complete his role as the Messiah because he died without starting a family, a necessary part of humanity’s path to salvation.
Sun Myung said Jesus passed him the role of savior. He married his second wife, Hak Ja Han, in 1960. Unification Church members refer to them as the “True Parents” who will redeem humanity.
And:
Sun Myung chose Sean as his successor in 2010, two years before his death. Moon separated from the main church in 2012 over disagreements with his mother, Hak Ja Han, who took leadership of the Unification Church. However, Moon still holds his father as a returned Messiah.
Janja Lalich, a cult expert and professor emeritus of California State University, Chico, told Hatewatch she considers the Sanctuary Church “a cult” and Rod of Iron Ministries a “troublesome movement.”
And then from The Pocono Record:
The Sanctuary Church made global headlines in 2018 when Sean conducted a religious ceremony blessing AR-15s. The Unification Church called Sean's theology a "perversion" of his father's beliefs, Sean said it was actually the late Rev. Moon who inspired the Rod of Iron Ministries.
"He is one with God and is still moving in the spirit," Sean said. "He was giving me the insight to see the Kingdom, not as some type of centralized government, but as a decentralized form of government."
That's where the rod of iron comes in.
It's referenced in the Bible as a tool from God used to smite and rule over nations, Moon said. To him and his followers, the rod is the AR-15, and it's the key to saving America from tyranny.
"Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession," reads Psalm 2:8-9. "You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”
And this is what The Ministry says about Sean Moon, himself:
Rev. Hyung Jin Sean Moon is the youngest son of Rev. Sun Myung Moon. He was named by his father as sole successor to his ministry in 2009 and earned a Masters of Divinity from Harvard University in 2010. Following that he held various positions in Korea. In April 2013, he moved to Pennsylvania, where he and his wife created the World Peace and Unification Sanctuary (WPUS). Initially, worship services were held in his home. By May 2014, the congregation grew to the point where a dedicated building was necessary, and the ministry moved to a 13,600 square-foot former theater and Catholic church in Newfoundland, PA. [Bolding in original.]
And:
Since 2015, as leader of the Sanctuary Church in Newfoundland PA, Pastor Moon has published "The Constitution of the United States of Cheon Il Guk," which lays out the political framework for the future Kingdom of God on Earth. [Bolding in original.]Yea, you gotta see his Constitution. It looks to me as if Sean Moon took the actual US Constitution and just spliced WPUS stuff into it.
For example there's this:
We the People of the United States of Cheon Il Guk (CIG), in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish in Heavenly Father’s name this Constitution for the United States of CIG.
Lot of that looks familiar doesn't it?
However, this comes right after:
The division of the sexes being ordained by God where man is the subject partner and woman is the object partner, congress shall pass no law that contradicts this divine edict.
Faithful marriage between a man and a woman being the ideal of God’s creation, the government of CIG will pass no law which interferes with or contradicts this Divine Law. The fruit of faithful marriage being the conception of children, congress shall pass no law which permits the injury to all persons born or unborn. Sexual abstinence before marriage being the ideal condition for newlyweds, congress shall pass no law supporting or giving aid to alternative life styles.
Can't get much more anti-LGBTQ, can you?
Then there's these other gifts to social conservatives.
Article 111 Section 9:
9. Congress is prohibited from creating or funding health care, education, social welfare, and social security programs.
And:
14: Congress is prohibited from forming an Environmental Protection Agency or laws.
Oh, and guess who's running the entire show, according to Sean Moon's Constitution?
Article 1:
1: The King of CIG is the head of state of the United States of CIG. The Kingship is bequeathed from the Lord of the Second Advent Moon Sun Myung to his son Moon Hyung Jin as second King and then to Moon Shin Joon as third King. The Kingship will be bequeathed henceforth to a son of the presiding King. If the King has no son then the Kingship will be bequeathed to a male heir within the direct lineage of Moon Hyung Jin. The King will decide who his inheritor is and will establish the order of succession.
Moon Sun Myung, the leader of the Unification Church passed away in 2012. His son Moon Hyung Jin is Sean Moon.
This is the Rod of Iron Ministries.
Why is this important?
This is why.
This was posted on the Rod of Iron Ministries Facebook page on April 17, 2021:
And this was posted on May 4, 2021:
And this was posted May 7, 2021:
Has PA State Senator (and GOP Candidate for Governor) Doug Mastriano ever explained his presence on these posters? What was the event like? What did Doug say? Did the even even take place? Are there any photos? I haven't been able to find anything about it.
And yet this poster was posted three times on the Ministry's FB page.
Did you notice the presence of Teddy Daniels, his endorsed candidate for Lt Governor on two of them as well?
Looks like good ole Teddy spoke at the Rod of Iron festival this past 2021:
So Senator, any comment for the blog?
You took an oath to uphold The (real) Constitution. So why is your face plastered all over these three posters for a church looking to replace it with a right wing theocracy?
