Amazing Grace

A recent story about a Florida pawn shop owner stopping gun sales in his shop reminded me a bit of the biography of John Newton, the man who wrote the hymn Amazing Grace. A former slave-trader, Newton had an epiphany which resulted in his disavowal of the institution of slavery, from which he had profited (oddly enough, he seems to have been enslaved by a "bigger" player in the slave trade for a while).

At any rate, the "redemption" story is somewhat similar- a man involved in an unsavory trade has a "Road to Damascus" moment, and forgoes profits for a clear conscience. Unfortunately, he's "small potatoes" in the arms dealing world, he only stands to lose thousands of dollars in revenue. Tragically, the million-dollar players in the arms trade will continue to push their agenda and their weapons... and the body count continues to pile up.