This issue's sensible gun law activist: Rev. Rachel Smith, Brady Board Member, Chapter Activist, and Founder of God Not Guns, preaching at the Halt the Assault Rally on Mother's Day 2004.

As an ordained minister, Rev. Smith provides a unique perspective. She says, "It got hard for me to talk about the issue of gun violence apart from the implications for the faith-based community."

Then, after the 2004 elections, she read an article about how right-wing political groups were poised to go to conservative churches with a political agenda that included pro-Second Amendment activism. "I was just kind of stunned," says Smith. "How can you justify from a religious perspective, allowing anyone to have any gun at any time? It's the antithesis of what the church is founded on: compassion, non-violence, peace. I decided right then that we couldn't let that happen."

That's how God Not Guns, a project of the Brady Center, was launched. The group's tagline -- faith in action to prevent gun violence -- sums up their mission to provide clergy and congregations with support and encouragement to see gun violence prevention as a ministry in their communities. This spring, Riverside Church in Manhattan will be the site of the first God Not Guns Sabbath, which will evolve into an annual nationwide observance.

"I think it's time for us to have some prophetic voices on this issue," says Smith. "We need to stand up to the powers that be and say, 'It's time for us to stop killing each other. This is not God's vision of peace.'"